I Wonder ...
What is 2020 going to bring in our life together as First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ? In 2019 there were expected and unexpected moments; there were planned joys, and there were challenges for which we couldn’t have prepared.
I’ve never put much effort into New Year resolutions, but on birthdays and new years I do like to look back and look ahead: what surprised me this year? what is the best I can imagine for next year? These always end up being meaningful (and sometimes silly) conversations with my spouse Jamie and friends. I also sometimes journal the questions, so I might look back and ask myself: did that come to be? or what was I thinking?!
In 2020 we’re preparing to vision what’s next as First Congregational Church, and therefore I have a lot of questions. Executive Coach and UCC Pastor Cameron Trimble recently wrote, “I have found an exercise called ‘I wonder’ to be an effective tool in times of exciting possibility but unclear outcomes.” Some of Trimble’s questions are more provocative for me than others, and you might find a few of them spark an interest now while other questions will intrigue you later.
Here are some of Trimble’s questions you might ponder as we enter the new year:
I wonder if I would feel more energetic if I ___________________.
I wonder what would happen if I learned ___________________.
I wonder why I am scared of ___________________.
I wonder if what I need most right now is ___________________.
I wonder if the most important thing to me right now is actually ___________________.
I wonder if my most urgent challenge might be teaching me about ___________________.
I wonder what would happen if I stopped doing ___________________.
I wonder if I focused on what was right in my life, I might discover ___________________.
I wonder if a loving (but appropriate) gesture would make a difference for ___________________.
I wonder if God is up to ___________________.
That final question is most provoking me today. God is up to something! But what? What is it that the Divine is calling us toward right now, as who we are? And who is the Divine calling us to be tomorrow? And what paths might take us there?
Clearly one question sets off new questions.
As we begin this new year together, I will continue praying for the Divine’s guidance, and I ask you to do the same. God is up to something!
In faith,
Sharon
