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If you wrote
a letter to God, what would it include? During my teen years, my brother and I
attended a special “Watch Night” church service with my mom on New Year’s Eve.
We attended a non-denominational church and the service was different than what I was used to at
other churches.
The singing
was quiet, no menagerie of instruments or cymbals, just peaceful songs. The New
Year’s Eve service consisted of singing Let
there be peace on earth, a message from the pastor, then writing a letter
to God.
In writing
our letter to God, we were to list affirmations, positive things we wanted to
see happen in our lives in the coming year. In a way, it was like praying on
paper. You could let your emotions flow as you expressed things you may not
have been ready to verbalize.
We addressed
our letters to ourselves and left them at the church. Six months later the
letter was mailed to us. It was an opportunity to reflect on the direction life
had taken us and see if we had accomplished what we wanted.
When my
teens were younger, I had them write a letter to God. I let them treat it as a
private conversation between them and God. I tucked away their completed letter
for six months then returned it to them.
The boys
were amazed at the things they had included in their letter. Some things had
actually happened others, they still needed to work on. They included things
like-improved grades, better attitude in school, etc.
More than
anything, for my boys, the process of writing down their thoughts helped put
things in perspective. For me, the letter writing process was a way to express
gratitude as well a symbolic representation of my faith.
As this year
comes to a close will you take the time to reflect? What good things have occurred
in your life? What are you looking forward to in the New Year? Put it in a
letter to God.
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