The Top Ten Stories of YOUR Life in 2009

(The local paper, The Concord Journal, invites leaders of faith communities in town to share a weekly column titled, "Voices of Faith." Here's my installment for January 7, 2010.)
Songs, books, headlines, movies: have you had your fill of the “Top Ten Whatevers of 2009”? Well, I hope you have room for one more and this one will get personal - so handle it with care.

How about “The Top Ten Stories of My Life in 2009”? That’s right! The Top Ten Stories of your life in the past year. Afraid you might not have 10 stories? Let me offer an assist with ten questions we all might ask to help frame our list.

1) What was the happiest story in my life in the past year? What brought me deep-down-inside joy? What brought me serenity? peace? Who were the characters in that story? How did the story begin? Has it ended? With whom have I shared this story? What might I do to keep this happy memory alive in my heart, my mind and my memories?

2) What was the most spiritual event in my life in 2009? When was I most aware of God, of my Higher Power, my soul? What was my deepest moment of prayer? What occasioned it? sustained it? confirmed it? What’s the story of my spiritual growth this past year? If I belong to a faith community, how have I deepened my relationship it? How have I shared my spirituality with others? How do I hope to grow spiritually in the year ahead?

3) What was the most selfless thing I did in the past year? How did I sacrifice for someone else? What did I give up? In what way was I generous in serving others? Did I give from my excess or did I give until I felt the pinch: did I go without for the sake of someone else? What did I receive in the giving? How might I be more generous in the new year?

4) What’s the story of my making peace in the last 12 months? What old grudges did I let go? What chips did I finally brush from my shoulder? What resentments did I broom from the corners of my heart? Whom did I forgive? Whose forgiveness did I accept? What differences and divisions did I help to resolve? What hard feelings do I carry into the new year - and how will I learn to let them go?

5) What was the most selfish thing I did in the past year? Did I prosper at the expense of someone else? Was there a time I put my own needs ahead of those around me at home or at work? Was my selfishness worth the effort, worth what ever hurt I may have caused? What have I learned about myself in this? What lesson have I learned about my relationships with others, even with those I love?

6) What was the saddest story in my life in 2009? What happened that left me feeling wounded, empty, lost? Who helped me through that time? Who shared the burden with me? What did I lose in this story - and what did I find? Have I healed from the sadness or do I cling to it? How can I reverence this memory without letting it run my life?

7) What was the most beautiful experience I had in this past year? Something in nature? A concert? Watching a child grow? A wedding? A friendship? A work of art? A book or a poem? A vacation? A personal accomplishment? A touch, an embrace, a new found love? How was I grateful for such beauty? How did I share it? To whose experience of beauty did I contribute? Are my eyes open for beauty in the year ahead?

8) What’s the story of new acquaintances and friends who became part of the story of my life in 2009? How did I meet them? Did my first impressions of others sometimes change in surprising ways? How did these new people welcome me into their lives? How have I welcomed them into mine? How is my life richer for having these new folks in my life? How have I enriched their lives? To whom might I reach out in the new year?

9) What was the greatest change in my life in the past year? How did it come about? How did I adapt to it? What difference has it made in my happiness? my spirituality? my faith? my understanding of others and their troubles? If this change was difficult, how did I seek and accept help in living with it? If this change was a happy one, how have I shared it with others and allowed others to benefit from it? How does this change relate to others changes I’ve experienced in life? How does this change have power to shape the new year ahead of me?

10) What’s the most unfinished story of my life in 2009? What are the loose ends that I need to tie up? What laziness has kept me from completing something I wanted and needed to finish? Are others waiting for me to bring this in? Am I waiting for others to help me? What still needs to be done - and how, when will I get to that in the year ahead? What peace, what happiness might be mine were I to finish this chapter of my life in 2009? How hard will I work to find that peace?

I doubt that my “Top Ten” list or yours will make Dave Letterman's show or the headlines or be published in magazines or online. Still, pondering these questions and looking at the year past with an eye to the year ahead might be helpful.

As of January 7, we each have 358 days left in the new year: just one day more than 51 weeks… What stories have we already begun to weave, to live, to write for 2010?

Happy New Year to you! May this be a year filled with stories of grace, peace, faith and generosity for you and yours.