Renewal happens all around us every day in plants, animals and our external bodies.  Our skin is constantly renewing itself and it regenerates about once a month.  Skin acts as protection for our entire body much like our mind  acts as protection for our hearts.  If we’re not renewing our minds, our hearts will fall prey to all kinds of things that will drag us off course.

To renew our skin our bodies must shed the old dead skin cells.  This is what needs to happen to us as we journey with Jesus.  We must continually be willing to surrender those things in us that are not of Him and allow Him to replace them with something new. If not,  we will be stuck in the hamster wheel of life wondering why it is so hard and why nothing ever changes.  We often think we have offered our broken selves to God…and maybe we did at some point.  But, renewal is not a one time event and to shed the things that are keeping us stuck requires awareness. It is hard to surrender something you don’t know is there.  This is where the reflective part comes in.

According to Merriam Webster’s dictionary, the first 2 definitions of reflective are:

 1. Capable of reflecting light, images or sound waves; 2. Marked by reflection: thoughtful, deliberate. Both parts are exactly what the reflective piece in Reflective Renewal is about.  It is about being willing to look at our reflection in the mirror: our part, and everything that is tied into that through our heart, mind and soul .  It is being willing to look back and to ask ourselves questions such as:  Why have I not made this change before?  Why am I behaving or reacting this way?  It is time for us to clear out the weeds,  give God some baggage once and for all; and let the Holy Spirit do what only He can do through our complete surrender!

Through this reflection, surrender and renewal with Jesus; we are then capable of reflecting the light, person and character of Jesus to the world around us. This is what God has called us to be, each and every one of us!  We are searching for our purpose, but this is what we are called to be… the light of the world.  The only way we can be light to the world around us is to reflect the light of Jesus!

Reflective Renewal is a place where two friends share where we are stuck and are learning to turn our will and our lives over to God moment by moment. We will share as we gain awareness through reflecting on our behaviors, motives, perspective, fears, desires, expectations, feelings, and reactions and learn to give those to God.  Then, as we ask the Holy Spirit to come in and transform us; we will share our slow process of change to better reflect the light, person, and character of Jesus.

Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.