Life Mapping Instructions

(Adapted from “Listen to My Life” Curriculum by Sybil Towner and Sharon Swing)

1. As you begin, invite the Holy Spirit to guide your memories.

2. Feel free to be creative in how you represent events and emotions by using
pictures, icons, or colors.

3. If you get stuck in one phase of life, pause to journal and ask yourself why
you may be stuck.

4. You are the only one who needs to understand the map. You can add a
paragraph or two to tell your story using the map as a guide, but others don’t
need to understand the symbols or images you use.

5. Begin with your timeline (birth to today). Begin to fill in significant

ages/dates with events connected to those times in your life. Ask yourself:
What has happened in my life? When did I have the greatest sense of
belonging to others? To God? To myself? When did I feel the least sense of
myself or the least sense of belonging? When did I feel the highest and the
lowest? What are the important memories that stand out to me? What are
the significant turning point or decisions that set the direction for the next
years of my life? Who was there with me? What roles did I play?

6. Aspirations, Dreams, Interests, and Positive Influences: What has influenced

me in a positive way? What people, music, books, travels, or things have
impacted me throughout my life? How did I view my future?

7. Losses, Hurts, and Negative Influences: What has had a negative influence
on me? What losses and hurts did I experience? What words spoken to me
had a negative impact? What did I believe about myself that was untrue?

8. Reflection: What insights do I have from documenting my story on my timeline?

What questions was I asking in the different eras of my life? What new
questions are emerging about myself, others, and God? How has God moved in
my life thus far?