Reflection and Never Running with Scissors

As a child my mom would tell us kids not to run with scissors because it’s risky running around with something that sharp in your hands. You might fall and land on those scissors and hurt yourself.

That’s how I feel when I’ve left no time in my life for reflection. It’s as though I’m running through life with scissors.

You see reflection’s the ability to think, review, pray and process specific situations and events occurring in our lives and in the world. Because of the way God’s create me, I need reflective time to respond appropriately, that is to be able to say right words and take the necessary action, in any given situation.

Reflection requires time, even if it’s just a few minutes a day, to create the space needed to reflect. We create space though solitude, mental and if possible physical solitude. Solitude then allows for a break from external distractions and encourages us to focus on Christ as we reflect on our life.

Finally, after creating the right space, reflection requires an understanding of ourselves, the world we live in, the people we relate to and the God who’s created it all. This understanding’s the context in which reflection does its work.

But when it’s busy, as it has been for me over the past three months, I find it extremely challenging to create the quality space needed for reflection. So here’s what I do when life’s causing me to run with scissors.

I pray for God’s protection so I won’t fall and land on those scissors and then, at almost any cost, I stop running. I remind myself that reflection’s as essential to my life as eating and breathing. Then I make the time and create the space so I can reflect on my life running with scissors and how not to let it happen again.