And he said unto me, Write

One thing that has helped me cope over the years is writing. Very often I escape to the world of journaling and write down my feelings and experiences after my husband died. I have done this for the past 10years and it has proved to be very therapeutic for me, I would like to recommend it for everyone not just those going through tough situations in their lives.  What I do is write exactly how I feel, I also write about every new experience and about people I have met that have impacted my life. I especially like to write when I am facing a difficult situation or when I have learnt some vital life lesson.

The best part of journaling for me is going back to read what I have written, awesome experience every time! Most of the time I can’t believe I am the one who wrote what I wrote, It often seems like it’s a different person going through that experience and not me. I find myself laughing, crying and shaking my head when I read my journals. I recently dug up my journal from 2008 (I try to have a journal for every year). That was a particularly hard year for me, I had recently moved to Abuja with my children to start a new job. For me it was like I had just been newly widowed because that was the first time since my husband died that I had to live on my own. I found myself grieving all over again; I gained weight and had bouts of depression.  Reading my journal from that year made me realize how much I had grown from that person it also helped me realize that if I knew then what I know now, I probably would have handled a lot of things differently, especially my finances.

I have also relearned some lessons from my journals that I had forgotten. There are days I have sat down to write down my plans, hopes and aspirations for a certain period only to find that I have veered of that path when I go back to my journal.  There was even a time I wrote a letter to my late husband. I just wrote, and at the end of the day I realized I was angry with him. I didn’t know this until I sat down to write, but anger was the emotion I expressed through my writing that day.

There is a sense of release and peace that comes from writing that can help you cope and keep on keeping on. Most especially, reading through my past write up has often opened my eyes to see just how much God’s presence has been with me through out and it gives me more assurance that he will perfect what he has begun.

Have a lovely, fruitful and fun filled week ahead.

Hugs!