How Do You Celebrate Your Defining Moments? By Sandi Somers

Image by libertyfairfield.com

 “Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to Him as a love gift.”  

                                                   Oswald Chambers

Connie Inglis wrote that November 11 was the defining moment to mark the end of WW 1. “Our personal histories have defining moments as well,” she added. “But how do we look at them? Do we look at them through eternal eyes? Through His Word?” She added, “it is important for us to focus on our life's defining moments in light of eternity.” 

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Today we celebrate defining moments such as birthdays, graduations, weddings, funerals, a new job…We take photos, write a song or tribute, have a celebratory party…and more.

But how do we celebrate our spiritual and writing moments?  l remember dates, such as February 22, the year I was eight, when I accepted Jesus as my Saviour. I have sometimes written a devotional, or written the date beside a scripture promise in my Bible.

For example, I wrote “July 1, 1996” next to Isaiah 42:16: “I will bring the blind by the way they know not, and along unfamiliar paths will I guide them. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight.”

At the time, I had a budding desire to have a second major cross-cultural experience. While I had lived in South America for two years and become accustomed to Latino ways, I wanted to develop a further in-depth experience, to immerse myself in a culture, and to work compassionately with the people.

In my darkness of unknowing, God's promise gave me great confidence that He would work in a way I had never seen before.

Over the next months, the way opened up for me to teach English as a Second Language to adults—right here in Calgary, first with an invitation to volunteer teach ESL. From there, I was introduced to different people in the field, which opened up new doors for me. But not just to work with one culture, but many from around the world. What a rich experience!

While some might call these events coincidence, serendipity, or even "the universe" coming to my assistance, nothing happened by chance. God had orchestrated people and opportunities to fulfill His promise.

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My date next to Isaiah 42:16 reminds me often of what Henry Blackaby called a “spiritual marker”, a modern-day version of altars or monuments Biblical peoples set up to remind them of times when they met God. (Think of Samuel who set up a rock of remembrance, calling it “Ebenezer”, which meant, “Hitherto the Lord has helped us”)

In his book, Experiencing God, Blackaby defined a spiritual marker as a time of transition, decision, or direction when he clearly knew that God guided him. Although he didn’t give examples, he said that as he reviewed his markers, he could see clearly the themes and directions in which God had been moving in his life and ministry.  

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Blackaby gave us several guidelines in discovering or remembering our spiritual markers (and we can also do this for our writing markers):

1. Spend time with God, asking Him to help you to identify spiritual markers: your heritage, your salvation story, significant decisions, times of transition, or directions when you knew clearly that God was guiding you.

2. How did they help you develop your spiritual/writing life?

3. How can you/have you written or spoken of them to remind/encourage others?

4. These spiritual markers can help you in the future. Refer to them as precedents for decisions you need to make, for guidance, etc. Review them as God's activity--what were important elements? Deep themes running through your life?[i]

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Now over to you:

Identify and celebrate your spiritual and writing markers by reviewing Connie Inglis’ questions and/or Blackaby’s guidelines.

Tell us your story.

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[i] Henry Blackaby. Experiencing God. Nashville, TN: Broadman &Holman. 1994. 198-202.