That worked to a great extent. It helped to soothe the sense of loss and absence but also aided her in developing her own identity as an individual and as her mother's daughter. These stories were later shared with her own children, and are just as treasured by my generation. Thankfully, we have more than the spoken stories and even more than old pictures to browse through in keeping the familiarity alive. We also have notes. Notes in bibles. Notes in letters. Notes in diaries and journals. Below is a pic I took recently of my grandma Jenny’s gloves, her diary, her journal and the morial book from her funeral in 1945--19 years before I was born. Cherished contentMy friend and colleague, Angela Torres (of Lasting Impressions Funeral Home) and I, were discussing how we get through personal and professional challenges. I explained my best defense and offense is to take time to refresh my soul daily, spending time in bible study and prayer. She decided to follow suit. Since then, she’s been updating me on how things are changing in good ways for her since giving Jesus Christ more space in her life, and being mindful of following His lead. The challenges are easier managed when she's not enduring them alone. Before she engaged in this new activity, I asked her if she had a bible. She confirmed she did and that it was a special bible--her mama’s bible. It came complete with notes in the margins left by her mama during her own bible studies. The notes are as precious to Ange as the notes in my great-gran’s bible, and my grandma’s journal and diary. We both agreed that reading our elders' words, written in their own handwriting, gave us something akin to a sensation of touching our loved ones. I even cherish touching the books and pages they handled while taking the time to write in them, all those decades ago. How ‘bout you?
I say this because words can lift up or tear down. Each writer gets to choose. I prefer to lift or do nothing at all. The older I get, the more important this is to me and I endeavor to maintain this rule in better fashion every day. Fancy or PlainJournals don’t have to be fancy. They don’t have to be big either. Whatever a writer can be comfortable with works. They also don’t have to edited by the grammar, punctuation and spelling police. Just write the way that’s comfy and let the reader figure out what you mean. Now and then, that sort of thing provides an adventure all of its own. If you’re already journaling, and have any thoughts to pass along on the subject, please feel free to share them in the comments. If you’re not journaling, I hope this has inspired you to consider giving it a try, even if it’s a once-in-a-while thing. Even then, it can be well worth it to you, and others who may find courage, hope and strength in your words well after you’ve written them. Another wonderful example is via another close friend and colleague, Prof. Maria Jordan of marcoujor's musings. Her mama left her with many journal entries that Maria continues to be thankful for season after season. You can read about her mama's legacy of journaling by clicking here and see the amazing things that have been crafted in her daughter's life that stemmed from the journal entries she left for her. You'll never know what wonderful things can come of your own journaling until you give it a chance. I hope you do. ShoutOutsThe wrap!Thanks for your visit today!
Blessings and be safe out there. Hope to see you back again next week, Shalom
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June 2018
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