Editor’s Note:
Advent invites us to pause, remember, and reflect on the stories that have shaped our lives and our faith. One of our members recently shared a personal reflection about the importance of looking back, capturing our memories, and passing our stories on to the next generation. We hope his words inspire you to consider your own story during this season of preparation.
A Season for Remembering: Reflections from Mike Starry
When I visited my kids in San Antonio recently, my daughters asked if I had written anything about my life experiences — a “what was life like when…?” kind of question. Their interest sparked something in me.
A few days later, I attended a seminar that, to my surprise, addressed that exact topic. The speaker offered a variety of resources for reflecting on our lives and recording the moments that have shaped us — spiritually, personally, and relationally. Some of the suggested tools included:
-
Spiritual Autobiography tools from the Upper Room
-
Life review and letter-writing resources from Stanford Medicine
-
Reminiscence projects, such as journaling, storytelling, scrapbooks, memory boxes, and recording personal histories
-
Digital tools like Microsoft Copilot, Grammarly’s writing assistant, journaling apps, and online guides
-
Articles about the mental and emotional benefits of journaling
-
The happyjournals.com offers a 'Journaling 101' treatment to get you started.
Each of us is on a spiritual journey. As disciples of Jesus, we experience moments — both extraordinary and ordinary — where the Spirit meets us, teaches us, comforts us, or nudges us forward. These moments of faith, hope, and love are worth remembering. They are worth writing down, preserving, and passing along to those we cherish.
I think doing this work will be “therapeutic” for me (yikes — who knows what I might rediscover!) and perhaps meaningful or even entertaining for my daughters and their kids. I’m going to give it a try. Maybe I’ll even send you an update on my progress.
Reflection Question:
As we journey through Advent, what memories or moments of God’s presence might you be invited to remember — or to share with someone you love?