Journaling

I can’t tell you how many years I have attempted to sit down long enough to journal.  It seems as though I would attempt to start every new year – almost like a resolution.  Something inside me would rationalize that THIS would be the year I would begin journaling regularly.  I would even get creative at times and craft my own journal.  I never got further than a full week, but I always knew I would come back to it.  Months, maybe even years later I would find the journal in a storage bin I was cleaning out.  I would read the limited entries, reminisce and then attempt to start up again because I realized how much of my life I had forgotten. It wasn’t until I started taking the time to sit still that I was able to become consistent with the journaling. I am happy to say that I now have a library of completed journals.  What I love most about the journaling is that it memorializes my life.  Moments that I would have long since forgotten are now written and easy to reference.

What I have found to be another important aspect of journaling is that it provides me the time to really sit with my thoughts, questions and problems. It amazes me how answers eventually start to take shape as I continue to write.  A true testament to the old adage “the answers you seek are within you.”

I encourage and challenge you to start journaling as soon as possible, if you are not doing it already.  The only advice I can give to help you benefit from the experience as much as I have, is to be prepared to sit with your journal for at least an hour before bedtime, listen to some soothing music and just simply start writing about the events of your day.  Eventually, emotions, issues, questions AND answers will begin to surface. Finally, end each entry with GRATITUDE! This will help you to realize that despite some of the difficulties in your life, the blessings outweigh them all and so you can SMILE knowing God is with you and loves you more than you can imagine.