Reflecting

So I've been reflecting on reflection lately. Yes, thats right...reflecting on reflection. Maybe its because of the nature of the new year, or maybe its because I started this whole blogging thing, but for whatever reason, I've been thinking about the importance of looking back on experiences. I think I've come to discover that it is more of an important process than I might have thought before. If you think about, looking back on something you've experienced often gives you completely new perspective on the situation and let's you see what you learned. In fact, I'm starting to believe that reflection is actually necessary for learning and growth to take place. This applies to many areas. For example, when you study for a test, you need to sit down, read your notes, look over a text book and think back on what you were taught in order for that information to sink in and be able to learn it. The same is true in a spiritual sense. In order to learn and grow in our relationship with God, we need to take the time to sit and think about what experiences God has brought us through, look back on what we were taught and allow that to meditate on our hearts in order that we may grow from it. We need to look back with a new perspective and allow ourselves the opportunity to see things in our lives that maybe we need to change, or maybe we need to work harder at, or maybe we need to sacriifice more of. I think for me, this all relates back to my personal desire to use more of what God has given me for His glory. I wrote about this a little in my year in review post, but in short, what I am learning is the huge responsiblity we as Christians have to give of ourselves and with all of the blessings God has freely given us.
As I was preparing to lead worship last week, I was thinking about reflection in the context of worshipping through music as well. Often times, we sing songs during a worship service that we've sung many times before, most of which declare similar qualities and characteristics of God and our lives with Him. We could get bored with this, but I beleive that by looking at this through the lense of reflection, we can choose to learn every time we worship through song. We can choose to reflect on the character of God and consider what that means in the context of our lives and how that should affect our relationship with Him.