What was I thinking???

Last week in an email I included two little excerpts from my diary when I was eleven years old. They talked about how tough life was at eleven years old and I wanted to make sure that if anyone ever read those pages again, that message was clearly communicated. These lines from 19 years ago brought a smile to my face. The response to this email was a request to see my thoughts at age 25. While I'm sure this was more a response than a request, it got me thinking.

I have been writing thoughts and prayers and ideas in a journal since I was about 9 years old. I have always loved it. Now, with the world of blogging, often my thoughts end up here, rather than on real paper. So, last night I sat down once again as I have so many times before, on my apartment floor, surrounded by my journals of all sizes and colors. These pages contain my innermost thoughts for the past 19 years. I started pouring over one of the journals from about five years ago. I was fascinated by a couple of things.

First, I have come a long way in my life. God has been good to me and faithful in bringing me through so many obstacles and fears and challenges. It was encouraging to see some of the areas I use to struggle with, I don't as often any more.

Secondly, I have been praying for some of the same things a really long time. There were common themes throughout this journal, that I'm sure I would find in my current journal, or journals from previous years. I guess that's a good thing. I keep coming before God with all my requests.

So what? Well, I was armed with a green highlighter last night. I started marking phrases, lines, and even whole entries that grabbed me. Some thing that shows where I was and what I was thinking at those times of my life. What were my thoughts on relationships, my job, my family, my roommates (when I had some), and so many other things. Over the next couple of weeks, I will be sharing excerpts from my journals. I think it will be a good exercise for me to go back and see just how far I've come. And I hope in sharing my struggles and victories, others will be encouraged that we are all living our lives the best way we know how.