Woman writing at sunset (Dollar[hotoclub)
Part three of
Start with your Spiritual Journal series
Editor’s Note: This four-part series, Start with your Spiritual Journal, is taken from Sharing Your Catholic Faith Story: Tools, Tips, and Testimonies by Nancy HC Ward. The series begins with Part 1: How do we start? Part 2 covers A Journal versus a Spiritual journal and Part 3 presents Best Practices. Part 4: The Blessings of Journaling concludes the series. Enjoy!
Remember, no one is looking over your shoulder critiquing what or how you write. Get lost in the experience of expressing yourself on paper in God’s presence as he takes you through the puddles and over the rapids of the living river of your faith story.
You don’t have to spend hours every day journaling. I don’t. Sometimes all I can manage to do is a weekly update. But when I try to remember all the graces and blessings of the last few days, I know something important is missing. I’ve forgotten many irreplaceable moments because I did not take the time to journal.
Consistency in prayer journaling is more important than when and where. In fact, the spiritual guide and author Fr. Jacques Philippe writes in Time for God that we risk becoming discouraged if we take on more than we can handle when setting aside this time for God. He encourages us to begin with twenty minutes to half an hour each day, which is better than two hours now and then. The half hour each day you spend praying and journaling yields more spiritual growth than longer, more sporadic periods.
It’s good to find a time and place with few distractions such as during adoration, or before or after Scripture study or daily Mass. Sometimes my computer is the worst place to journal. Although I may jot down a quick thought to explore later, invariably something pops up on my screen to distract me.
If you have tried journaling before and ended up in a “pity party of one,” I encourage you to try again, this time with fewer self-expectations and more expectant faith that God is with you and will encourage you. Believe that he loves you unconditionally, share from your heart, and open it to his perfect will for you.
Perhaps you are concerned with protecting your privacy. You hesitate to share freely with God because you are afraid your scribblings will be revealed, exposing you to ridicule. I protect my notebooks from those who might not understand where I’m coming from, and leave the rest to God. My concern for privacy is one reason I prefer spiral notebooks—to tear out pages that I don’t want to be around when I’m gone.
The blessings of spiritual journaling—to you and anyone who has grown closer to God because you shared from your spiritual journal—overwhelmingly outweigh the privacy risk.
Next: Part 4: The Blessings of Keeping a Spiritual Journal
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