Crafting a Spiritual Plan
“The one who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.” —Carl Jung
Do you have a spiritual plan for how you’d like to grow deeper with God in the upcoming year? In what ways can you participate with God as things like more peace and patience and self-control grow in you?
When I garden, I have several plants that require some assistance. Otherwise, they spread all across the ground and get tangled up in one another. They need a trellis, a firm structure, that guides their growth and maximizes their ability to produce fruit.
As a human being, I’m finding I need something like a trellis, a structure that helps me grow. I need a spiritual plan.
In his letter to Christians in Galatia, Paul writes about how the presence of God’s Spirit cultivates in us things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I don’t know about you, but these are all things I could use a little more of this next year.
This week we find ourselves in that middle space between Christmas and New Years. We’re spending time with family. Maybe taking some time off work.
Maybe for you these are days for doing some self-reflective work. Was it a good year? Was it a bad year? What made it a good or bad year?
You take in all the things that happened over the last 365 days. You anticipate what may happen (or what you’d like to make happen) in the next trip around the sun. Maybe you make some resolutions about your health, your job, or your career.
Maybe you don’t.
What about your life with God? I’d like to put forward the idea of writing a spiritual plan for your next 12 months.
How might you make yourself available to God and your neighbors in a fresh and new way over the next 12 months? What fruit would you like to see growing in your life a year from now? Freedom from anxiety? Clarity of purpose? Empathy for others? Alleviating a nagging sense of loneliness?
Take some time in the coming days and make a plan. Maybe you write three sentences. Maybe you fill three notebooks. Quantity doesn’t matter. But thinking ahead and putting something to paper does.
Where might you like to be a year from now? What growth would you like to see happen? What would your life look like?
Consider your presence as it relates to these three places: worship, community, and mission. Mike Breen uses the language of “up,” “in,” and “out” that correlate to these. Worship (up) is our life as it relates to God. Community (in) is our life with other Christians. Mission (out) is our life in our wider neighborhood and community.
Worship
Can you be more regularly present with a worshiping church community that you belong to?
Is there a consistent practice of prayer you can engage in?
What new practice of prayer can you explore?
Is there a rhythm of Scripture reading you can enter into?
What new spiritual discipline can you pick up?
Can you get into a new spiritual habit that draws you closer to God?
Are there new relationships you can pursue that help you be more present to God?
Do you need to start meeting with a spiritual director?
Community
How can you be helpful to your church community?
How can you use your unique gifting to serve others?
Who is someone in your church community you can share coffee with and listen to their story?
Are there a couple of friends with whom you can start meeting regularly for prayer and encouragement?
Do you need to mentor and encourage a younger person?
Do you need to be mentored and be encouraged by an older person?
Mission
Can you learn the name of one next-door neighbor? Of all of them?
Do you invite one over for dinner?
Do you host a simple soup dinner for neighbors on your street?
Who is someone in your neighborhood with whom you can share coffee and listen to their story?
Are there ways to re-narrate your place at your job to imagine yourself in a place of God’s mission?
Can you meaningfully serve somewhere in your community (school, shelter, non-profit, etc.)?
Is there a place in your community where you can be a regular (like a Starbucks or McDonald’s) in order to simply be present, pay attention to people, and listen to your community?
Whatever you do, keep it simple. But also keep it just beyond the realm of your comfort zone. Stretch yourself. Be specific. “Invite a neighbor for dinner once a month” is better than “Be more hospitable.” “Read a chapter each day and share with my partner what I discovered” is better than “Read the Bible more.”
Write it down. At the very least, consider one thing in each of those three areas. Share it with your partner, a mentor, a pastor, or a spiritual director. A trained spiritual director can drill down and explore with you the “why” about your plan. Knowing the “why” behind your plan can be invaluable in helping stay on track.
Set a reminder for yourself to revisit your plan in about month. Are you on track? Is it realistic? Have you completely forgotten about it? Did you set the bar too low? Have grace for yourself if it’s not working out. Just reboot and start over.
It’s crucial to remember we don’t grow the fruit in our life. God does. But we do play a part in being receptive to God’s work in our lives. We can posture ourselves to receive.
Be proactive in making this next year a season that increases your capacity to love God and love your neighbor.