Journaling: Smelling the Roses

Life moves pretty fast. … (wait that’s Ferris Bueller). 

Tonight, the SPR reminded me that one’s rest, self-reflection, and relationship with God are connected. This counsel led to me perusing through 10 years’ worth of journals. Most of them begin around Christmas time. Journaling and Advent are a time of anticipation – a mixing of expectation and hope. 

I begin each journal with a title. I noticed that running them all together said something profound about how we wait for (and in) those moments of rest, self-reflection, and divine relationship…
“The End (or the beginning of someone new)” – “The Days Following” – “It Begins and Ends, And Does So Again” – “There is Always More to Learn” – “Feeling My Way Forward.”

Notice the repetition that life holds. We seem to always be in transformation … giving and receiving, winning and losing, forgetting and remembering … as we seek rest, an authentic self, and the grace of God. 

Maybe you’re waiting right now for something; anticipating who you might become as you experience God and life. Waiting can be stressful and rough. Look what was in one of my journals …
Eric Speir notes 5 reasons why God makes us wait.
Waiting(1) reveals our true motives, (2) builds patience in our lives, (3) builds anticipation, (4) transforms our character, (5) builds intimacy and dependence on God. (Relevant magazine).

If the waiting is weighing on you, you might look at some of the Psalms (69 is a good one) because the Psalmists seem to be always waiting on God.

… “If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”