Reflection Paper

Autobiographical Reflection and Goal-Setting

We ask you to bring with you a two-page description of yourself and what you are asking of God in the retreat. People, in this hurried world, seldom make the time to STOP AND LOOK at where they have been, and seriously contemplate where they are going.

1. Write about your work, a job, church, family – the basic skeleton of your life.

You may wish to answer these questions: How do I feel about my life and work, about my achievements, my hopes? What are my fears and ambitions, my joys and satisfactions? By listing the stepping stones in one’s life, the truly significant and memorable events stand out.

2. When you think about the past, it may stir emotions.

Write only one sentence about it in this reflection paper, and save delving into it for your private journal. You will have plenty of time to do extensive writing later. This is a great exercise to get you primed for journaling while you are at the retreat. Once a year, a person would do well to take a 36-48 hour time slot to quiet down, take a look at their life, and listen to the deepest inner most stirrings of their soul. “If I am to bring all of me to the divine lover for renewal and transformation, I need to look at all of me and face all of me.” (Morton Kelsey)

Think of your journaling as a technique for opening up a tightly closed rose bud. God can use this form of self-expression to gain insight … and bring about healing.

3. Include your spiritual journey.

What led up to your decision to follow Christ, and your travels since that point?

Take a look at your spiritual experiences.

Think about all the times when God has broken through and touched your life.

4. Write about the present, and the future – “Where I am and what I am looking for.“

The different aspects of our lives are endless. As we pick one thread and then another we form a tapestry picture woven in the fabric of our total existence.