Your Spiritual Makeover Starts Now

Get Behind Your Future

MTV’s hit show “I Want a Famous Face” follows the lives of 12 young people who want to look like their favorite celebrities. They undergo hours of grueling plastic surgery and painful recovery to resemble the people they admire. Sadly, the contestants give up their identities to become Brad Pitt or Janet Jackson.

However, unlike the misguided show, God doesn’t make cookie-cutter people. And as Christians, though we all strive to act and think like Jesus, God loves us specifically and individually. He knit us together in our mothers’ wombs and writes a specific plan for each of our lives.

Our past self—the moments, turning points, and threads that are a part of where we’ve been—is important to our future identity. Christ intricately orchestrates the people, places, and events that bring us to Him. God wants to use all of it—the good and the bad—to impact His kingdom. To become someone new, we need to know who we were.

“Writing your spiritual autobiography can give you a good sense of those themes of your spiritual world which have shaped you,” suggests author and psychologist Richard B. Patterson. “It can also give you an idea as to which questions have pursued you.”

A spiritual autobiography may sound fancy, but it’s not a thesis and spelling doesn’t count. In fact, no one else has to read it. Patterson recommends starting with your childhood. “Begin by telling the story of your parents’ religious background and general spiritual approaches. Your early life might include messages that were communicated to you,” he says.

“The point is to help you define what you’ve come to truly believe, as well as to provide focus on those questions which you still want to pursue,” Patterson explains. Not a writer? Consider finding pictures or songs that represent pivotal moments in your life and write a brief caption explaining the significance of each.

Manufacturing project manager Lori Capley recognizes the value of telling her story. “I accepted Christ in high school and got baptized. But when I went to college, I began a holy tug-of-war with God.

“I decided to do things my own way. I got married and went through a tough divorce. I kept asking God why. It was like He said ‘How can I bless what I was never part of?’” Capley admits.

“A few years later my dad died of cancer. For a long time I was mad at God. … But I know I wouldn’t be who I am today if my dad was still alive. I know God uses my story to help others. I help others who have faced what I faced. I have had so many opportunities to counsel people who have dealt with cancer.

“You can’t let your past predict your future. You can’t live there. You have to celebrate what God has brought you through.”

Your spiritual makeover begins with a journey through the past. By writing your spiritual autobiography, you can gain clarity for the future. Like Capley, maybe God is calling you to help people with similar life experiences. Capley’s past could have become a prison, paralyzing her from doing ministry. Instead God used her trials as a springboard to grow. He redeems every mistake and loves us even when life is messy and we don’t have the answers.

Nobody else has your story. Dare to tell it.

Questions to Get Your Story Started

The best way to approach your spiritual autobiography is to simply tell your story. Here are some thoughts to get you going:

• How did your childhood impact who you are spiritually?
• What role (good or bad) did your parents play in your spiritual journey?
• Describe your earliest impressions of God. What pivotal event brought you to Christ?
• Describe the teachers, mentors, songs, or books that taught you how to live the Christian life.
• What mistakes shaped who you are today?
• How did God use difficult situations in your life to bring you to Him?
• Describe the times you felt closest to God.
• Describe a time when you really didn’t feel God at all.
• What is your favorite Bible verse and why?
• How has God continually pursued you throughout your life?
• What prayers has He answered for you?
• Describe a time God didn’t give you what you wanted that now makes perfect sense.
• What questions do you still wish God would answer?
• How do you see God using your past to impact your future?