In the last several months, two of my grown daughters have had a very difficult time. I have watched them deal with all kinds of things. Their pain has been my pain, and it has been hard.
Yet, just like precious little birds, they have flown in and out of my nest for recovery, comfort and hope. They have spent days, weeks or even months at Mother's house and it has been a blessing to be here for them.
There were times I worried their troubles would drag them down so far that their despair would be unbearable. I decided they needed little journals. They needed some courage and inspiration from their own lives. Journals would be just the thing to get them through the bad times.
In my own life, I often look back over my journal to see the many trials and triumphs in the lives of my children. This encourages me so much and keeps me going. It helps me realize that bad times don't last. . . Yes, we will always have bad times and yes they will often be rough, but they don't last.
Joy always comes in the "morning". . .
I bought each girl a journal and wrote an inscription. I told them the book was only for happy events. It was to be a recording of all the blessings and good things that happened in their lives. It was for small things and big things, as long as it was pleasant.
One of the journals I found for my girls was leather bound and pink! There was a quote on the cover, by Jane Austen, which says, "Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery."
Isn't this just like life? There are times of misery and times of precious joy. When we dwell on the good, our outlook is better and our resolve is strong!
Blessings
Mrs. White
From the Archives -
To calm your worries - The Note in Mother's Pocket.
The Beauty of Mother's godly work - Amazing Dedication.
For Home-keeping Inspiration, order my book - For The Love of Christian Homemaking.
12 comments:
What a great idea! I have one grown daughter and two who will be leaving the nest in the next year. (Twins) I think I may give them journals! I am bad at keeping a journal myself. The only one I ever consistently kept was when my husband and I were dating. It has been a great reminder to us during difficult times in our marriage.
Now that is such a lovely idea Mrs White.They will be able to look back through those journals and realise how God has sustained them and blessed them even in the most trying times. I do not journal, but have a book which I keep out on the table which I fill with little cheerfulnesses as I find them. Even seeing the book there makes me smile
I am a journal-keeper and love the idea of this for my daughters! Please, where did you get the Jane Austen one??! I have looked online, but can not find it! My 19yo would love to write in one such as that.
Beautiful post.
I really like your journal idea! You must be such a blessing to your whole family! Have a great day. ~ Jamie
Lori,
I found the Jane Austen journal in a Marshalls store a few months ago. It could have come from anywhere in the world and was the only one like it. I had hoped to find it online as well and wanted more copies of it!
What a wonderful idea, Sharon!
So often we will get bogged down with our circumstances that we forget about our blessings!
Mrs. White,
Though the pain is real, this is a very sweet post and I enjoyed reading your thoughts.
A journal is lovely. Writing about pleasant things is a blessing to recall.
Being a MOMMA takes courage and lots of prayer. I cheer you on. God loves us and wants us to be there when times are hard to encourage these loved ones.
God bless you,
d
Wow....bright pink, leather, Austen quote. And I love the quote itself! :o)
I pray your girls will use these little books often. It seems we don't always think of our blessings when the going is tough. VERY easy to focus on the negative, isn't it. :o/
So hoping this will be a good exercise for them, Mrs. White!
Brenda
It is very hard to sometimes understand the why's of life. If you look deep, you will find more strength to make it than you think.
I have a gratitude journal. It trully works to focus on the positive instead of the negative. I will keep your daughters in my thoughts and prayers and hope things get better for them.
JM Illinois
A great idea for your girls! Love the Jane Austen journal! I also have a gratitude journal and it helps to review at the end of each day to find the good things that happened.
Have a lovely weekend,
Robin
A terrific idea! I really like that journal cover! HPS to you and yours. I hope everyone gets their situations straightened out. Life is so complicated!
Thank you for sharing!
Post a Comment