From a Word from Becky, my monthly newsletter to my readers
Dear friends,
Happy New Year! As we remain in the Christmas season, I also wish you Merry Christmas!
The mark of a new year invites us to take a moment for both reflection and praydreaming.
The questions God asks Hagar (Genesis 16: 8) as she wanders in the wilderness are helpful questions for us to ponder with God as we enter 2023:
- Where have you come from?
- Where are you going?
Ignatian spirituality offers us a powerful tool for reflection and praydreaming: The Examen. St. Ignatius understood in a profound way the value of pausing to review and reflect backwards. His wisdom was to pause and reflect on the movement of the spirits in our day. What were those moments of consolation? What about the moments of desolation in our day? He invites us to pray the Examen to grow in awareness of God with us in our real lives, of how the Holy Spirit is drawing us closer to God, and of how the false spirit seeks to move us away from God.
I encourage you to take some time at the start of 2023 to pray an annual Examen. Take some time to thank God for the gifts of this past year and to review with God what happened both in the concrete reality of our lives and in the inner movements of your heart.
After taking time to review your year with God, I invite you to spend some time praydreaming with God about not only your hopes and desires for 2023, but also God’s hopes and desires for you. Ask God, “What do you dream for me this year?”
When we integrate our faith in all areas of our lives, we find ourselves on a path of the more. Ignatius called this the Magis. Living with Christ brings more hope, more peace, more joy, more clarity, more purpose into our lives. Reviewing and praydreaming with Christ encourages us to bring what we received to others and to be part of Christ’s work in the world today.
Twenty years ago, Chris and I began an annual practice of reviewing our year with Christ and praydreaming with Christ about our year ahead. We begin each year with an intentional discernment and planning process that aligns our core values and goals with God’s vision for our lives. In 2021, we started teaching others our tried-and-true process through a live virtual evening of reflection and later through an on-demand retreat. This year, as we lean into our mission of accompaniment, we’re expanding our offering and going deeper together through a series of four live sessions called Living with Christ.
I invite you to join us. We will not only share the tools and techniques we have refined in our own annual new years practice, but also walk with you, giving you time and space between sessions to pray, listen, and plan, helping you go forward with boldness and peace. During this virtual retreat, we will help you put together an intentional and prayerful plan for the year rooted in your core values and God’s desires for you.
Know of my prayers for you!
Peace,
Becky
Photo by Leonard von Bibra on Unsplash
Becky Eldredge
January 2, 2023