Perspective

I’ve had the chance to do a little writing for fun this week, and it has been so filling for my heart! As I worked on one of my little side projects, I traveled back to my journals from 2020, when we had first moved to WillowBridge. I wanted to look for something specific I had written about in those early Community Advocate days, and I ended up finding so much more than I initially set out to find.

            As I read through the thoughts of my heart and the verses that were popping up in my Bible study at that time, I saw how God was preparing me for what would come in the months ahead. I saw questions that were better than I knew – and while I didn’t know the answers then, I do now, and I’m thankful my heart was in tune enough to ask.

            I read about obstacles I’d forgotten about, and I watched growth come through words, wrestling, and seeking the Lord. I read about obstacles I’ve never forgotten, and my today-heart felt nothing but deep compassion for my then-heart and its hurt.

            I’ve been a journaling champion since my teen years, and moments like this one remind me why I love it so. The opportunity to step back from the place of perspective is such a gift. Returning to moments of the soul never gets old for me. I love seeing the growth, change, and development.

            When we go through our school years, we have the opportunity to mark growth through academic learning and tests to prove our skill. While I don’t miss academic tests – at all – I do miss the proof of marked growth. For me, journaling brings that to the front.

            Make no mistake: I’m not perfect. I revisited my failures in some of those pages just as I revisited the things I did well. But I was thankful to see growth surpassing failure in that season. Sometimes the days felt like failure. But again, from the perspective of time, I see a different story. A truer story.

            I hope you preserve your heart’s learning in some way. I hope some version of journaling or note-taking happens in your life. It can be such a joy to return to the moments and see the goodness of learning in your life!