Journal-Keeping in Turbulent Times

“Says I to myself” should be the motto of my journal. 

Henry David Thoreau, The Journal, 1837-1861

It turns out that I have a lot in common with actor Matthew McConaughey -- we are practically twins. Okay, before the snarky comments begin, we seem to have one thing in common. For the past 35 years he has kept a journal, as I have, but because he's handsome and famous he can squeeze a book out of excerpts from his musings through the years.It will be released in October but the PR has started already.

I began my journal  35 years ago, in my early 30's, just after the birth of our daughter Jocelyn. It was a joyous event and a demanding time in the life of our family so I was inconsistent in terms of regular journal entries. Then the trauma of a tornado ripping through our area got me writing again and I decided to at least attempt to write every days for a month. That month became a year, then ten, now 35, with only a handful of days missed. 

Needless to say, thousands of those days have been rather mundane and uneventful, yet it became important for me to reflect on what had unfolded in my life, the life of my family, my congregations, and the world. This was not the day-book I kept to record appointments and the sequence of events which were part of my vocation as a minister.

 The entries have been reflections on what mattered each day, sadnesses and joys, encounters with people,  a sense of God's presence in my life. These are all in my own hand-writing in bound books which are essentially the same. I often include a brief prayer and perhaps a note of gratitude. I make a little graphic note of the weather in the corner and record the creatures I've seen that day. 

Journal-writing has been a spiritual discipline for many people of faith through the centuries, the famous and unknown, a form of contemplation and prayer. Literary greats such as Henry David Thoreau kept journals as well.

Strangely, I almost never go back to read in my journals and I will certainly not publish their contents. I have searched back to find my reaction to certain events. For instance, I've rummaged around to get a sense of how I felt as the Bridge St. UC congregation and partners moved through the process of sponsoring the first of our Syrian refugee families. It touched me to read about how we found our way through this and the sense that God was our guide. 

I had actually hoped to offer a three-session study and discussion on Journal Keeping during this month of August through Trenton United, our current church home. It seems to be that these turbulent times are the emotional equivalent of a tornado. The study didn't come to fruition but it may yet, likely online. Let me know if you're interested!  No, I can't promise that Matthew will be a guest...