Reflect

This is one of those words with multiple meanings and uses. My Nica kid always asked why does English have so many words that sound the same but have different meanings and uses. I actually like the word reflect because of the two most common uses of the word. To reflect is to “cast back light, heat or sound from a surface, or to give back or show an image like in a mirror”.  I like the other meaning of reflect to “look back and ponder the past”. I will sometimes be taken back in time when I taste a certain food, smell something or hear a song. Those times of reflection just happen. I think it’s healthy to reflect often on my life’s journey that brought me to where I am today and made me who I am today.

My reflection takes me back to my home church where I first heard a sermon, a special song or sung an old hymn. I can remember certain lessons in Sunday School at my home church. I remember High School and college. My faith really became my own in college. When I reflect on some of my early days as a Student Pastor, it’s by the grace of God that those kids know the Lord. I’m pretty confident that I didn’t know much. I sometimes which I would have known then what I know now. I can reflect about my journey as I served different churches in different roles. I am thankful that my journey is still progressing to know the heart of God more completely.

The people of Israel were captured and had to watch their captors destroy the city of Jerusalem were they had such fond memories of family, community and worship. Check this out….

¹ Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept
    as we thought of Jerusalem.
² We put away our harps,
    hanging them on the branches of poplar trees.
³ For our captors demanded a song from us.
    Our tormentors insisted on a joyful hymn:
    “Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!”
⁴ But how can we sing the songs of the Lord
    while in a pagan land?

⁵ If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
    let my right hand forget how to play the harp.
⁶ May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
    if I fail to remember you,
    if I don’t make Jerusalem my greatest joy.(Psalm 137:1-6 NLT)

One of the reasons I think Alzheimer’s is such a horrible disease, is because the ability to reflect and remember is slowly taken away.

I want to reflect on my past because it has brought me to my present. I can’t change anything in my past, but I can make decisions today that change my future. I think reflecting helps me focus in on the things that need changing today for a better tomorrow. I want to reflect more so that I can be fully present and aware of the weight of my everyday decisions today.

Pressing On!

Dwayne