(This post was written by Evan Crass, Associate Pastor of Groups)

Recently I was in the midst of a conversation, when the well-known phrase “hindsight is 20/20” was thrown out.  I responded by saying “most of the time”.  The trick is to put forth the effort to look back.  I shock myself regularly by having to relearn the same truth because I never took the time to apply what I discovered, often through an unpleasant experience.

For instance, what about the promise I made to read more, eat healthy, watch less TV, and work out regularly?  Or the desire to spend more time with my family and cultivate meaningful relationships with a small group of friends?  Too often I’ve allowed these ambitions to be crowded out, not by intentionally doing the opposite, but by simply failing to save time on my calendar.  And I know I need to take this step, but I often fail to do so.

Of course, I know I’m not the first person to fall prey to this cycle.  The Bible has some great stories of lessons that were learned and relearned time and time again.  All the things Moses went through with the Israelite nation comes to mind.  A colorful summary of this cycle is found in Proverbs 26:11, “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.”

With 2010 all but behind us, now is a great time to look back and reflect on triumphs achieved, lessons learned, and opportunities missed.  Take the time to write down what you discover, and then take some appropriate action.  Maybe this time next year we will be learning new lessons versus relearning old ones.

Note:  One resource that may be helpful as you put together a plan for 2011 is Monvee.  You can “test drive” the tool by using the Church Code “C6191844”.  Contact Evan if you’re interested in learning more how this tool can help you.