As we start out in the year 2022, a word for this year was not very apparent to us. I had one that seems to be it but then my husband gave me his list of words. After scanning the list and thinking it over one word really stuck out to me. Reflection was the choice. It really did embody the message we wanted for the year 2022.

Reflection is thinking over your past and seeing where we might have missed the mark but also learning from those times and moving on. We do not want to stay in our past but we don’t want to repeat the same mistakes. God is truly a God of new starts and second chances. Looking over our spiritual life and making sure we are growing and changing things that God has brought to our mind is a very good practice. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! “ 2 Corinthians 5:17

Reflection can also be reflecting on God’s word. When we read the Bible we need to consider what He is trying to tell us and how that can fit in our lives. We learn what we can do to have a stronger faith and share more of God’s love with others. Life can be full of challenges but can we trust God in it all? Reading God’s word and reflecting on it can help hold us up in tough times when we can’t see clearly. “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” 1 Corinthians 13:12

One of our main goals in this life should be the act of reflecting God in our lives to others. Reflection of God in us is the best witness to a lost world that we can have. Showing our true faith and heart to others who are in need can be life changing. Many of us know people who had a strong faith and gave us a living example of Christ. People who asked you to church the first time and you could see they had something different. People who lived in a Christ like way, even during stressful times when compromise could have been so easy. People who are real and show their true selves so it might help someone else to not make the same mistake. Caring for the individuals above all else and giving God the glory for it all. “Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.” 1 John 3:18

So as we start off this new year of 2022, let us remember to reflect on these things:

Reflect on the past and learn from it. Move forward with confidence.

Reflect on God’s word daily and apply it to our life.

Be a reflection of God so others will come to know our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” Colossians 3:17