Give this a try!

Give this a try!
Though my retreat is in silence, I do meet with my retreat director each morning for about a half of conversation.  We talk about what happened in my prayer the day before and look forward to the day ahead.  At the beginning of my retreat, my director suggested an exercise to help shape my reflection.  I found it to be a rich source of prayer and it continues to influence my retreat day by day.  So, I thought I’d share it with you for your own prayer and reflection.  
It’s very simple!
1) Find a quiet place and make some time for prayer…
2) Ask the Lord to help you remember times when you’ve experienced goodness in your life…
3) You might recall the goodness you’ve experienced: in people (family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, classmates, strangers); or goodness you’ve experienced in the different places where you’ve lived or worked or visited; or goodness you’ve experienced at different phases, times and events in your life; or the goodness you’ve experienced in particular circumstances, situations and challenges…
3a) In this time for remembering experiences of goodness it’s possible that some hurtful memories might come to mind – but today’s not the day for that.  We so easily recall what’s been difficult, we’re much slower to remember our blessings.  For today, take a pass on the painful and give yourself to the goodness…
4) All good gifts come from God… As memories surface, ask yourself, « What’s the goodness here? How did it touch me? change me? challenge me? comfort me? heal me? shape me?  Where was God’s hand, God’s grace, God’s presence in this experience? »  These moments of goodness might have been great or small – makes no difference!
5) For all the goodness you remember – give God your thanks and praise!
– I did this reflection with paper and pen in hand – to take notes.  You might choose to reflect on each experience as it comes to mind or to list a number of them and then go back to reflect on them.
– You’ll find that one of the wonderful surprises of this exercise is remembering people, places, times and events you’d long forgotten but that were, indeed, experiences of God’s goodness in your life.  You might even begin to see patterns of God’s grace that you hadn’t previously noticed.  And you may find that in hindsight, some of your greatest difficulties and challenges have also been experiences of God’s goodness.
– I hope you’ll give this a try!  I’ll be praying that you do and that you find God’s warm fingerprints on the moments of goodness that come to mind and heart.
And here’s a song for your prayer…
God of All My Days 

I came to You with my heart in pieces 
And found the God with healing in His hands 
I turned to You, put everything behind me 
And found the God who makes all things new 
I looked to You drowning in my questions 
And found the God who holds all wisdom 
And I trusted You and stepped out on the ocean 
You caught my hand among the waves
‘Cause You’re the God of all my days 
Each step I take
You make a way 
And I will give You all my praise 
My seasons change, You stay the same 
You’re the God of all my days 
 I ran from You, I wandered in the shadows 
And found a God who relentlessly pursues 
I hid from You, haunted by my failure 
And found the God whose grace still covers me 
I fell on You when I was at my weakest 
And found the God, the lifter of my head 
And I’ve worshiped You and felt You right beside me 
You’re the reason that I sing
‘Cause You’re the God of all my days 
In my worry, God, You are my stillness 
In my searching, God, You are my answers 
In my blindness, God, You are my vision
In my bondage, God, You are my freedom 
In my weakness, God, You are my power 
You’re the reason that I sing 
‘Cause You’re the God of all my days 
In my blindness, God, You are my vision 
In my bondage, God, You are my freedom 
All my days

  


  

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