Guest Post by
Polly Anna Watson
In the midst of our trials, as difficult as it is, as difficult as it may sound to some, we need to be ready to write about the trial we are experiencing. As much as possible, at least.
Our thoughts. Feelings. Emotions. The specifics. The events. The moments. The happenings. Everything we can. Even if in the moment we think it might not be important, we need to include it in our journal. The songs playing on the radio. The movies we watch. The sounds in the background. It all matters.
Why?
Because one day, one day you might wish you had.
For those of us who have suffered severe trials, I can tell you truly that my journals are treasures more valuable than rubies or gold or diamonds. Yes, they were difficult to write in the moment, but I am thankful I have them. It may be difficult amid a trial to journal, but the benefits make the effort worth it.
A few points to remember:
1. Because you are in the midst of the trial, you are not focused, aware. Journaling helps you remember the details so that later you can come back to your words and remember what you thought you remembered but realize you didn’t remember as well as you thought you did. Trauma does that to us. Although I remember specific details of my traumas in haunting detail, there are other details that would have been lost to me forever if it had not been for my journals.
2. Like photographs, journals are our memories. Journals tell our stories. They leave our legacies. Our thoughts and feelings. Our hearts.
3. The best part about a journal, especially during an especially difficult trial, is that we can be as real as we choose without worry of hurting someone else’s feelings. We can be rude, disrespectful, and angry! We can swear! Get angry at God! Yell on the page and scream to our heart’s content! We don’t have to worry about judgment or someone coming back with some flippant remark or platitude that makes us want to punch them in the throat! We can be real, honest and say what is true and not care what anyone else thinks. God knows how we think and feel during this time of trial anyway. He can take it! It’s better to put it on the page of my journal where it’s between me and Him than it is to spew it out into the world. (I can always rip out the pages and burn them if I must.)
4. I can pour my heart out onto the page and even when I don’t know what to say, the Holy Spirit does: Romans 8:26, NLT, “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.” I can just pour out my heart and even if my words make zero sense to anyone who would read them, it doesn’t matter because God hears my heart.
5. One day, twenty years down the road when you’re going through some old things, you’ll find that old journal. You’ll open it to a random page and you’ll read a few lines. And you will remember the exact moment you wrote those words. You will remember the exact feelings you felt as you wrote. You will remember. And you will be grateful for the words.
Polly Anna Watson
NACJW Professional Member
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