The Art of Handwriting

Over Christmas, I had some...shall we say...free time. I got tired of being lazy after one day, so I tackled a few boxes in my parents' attic. I thought I had cleaned out the majority of my belongings when I moved out, but apparently there were still a few boxes to go through. I went through some stuff animals and trolls (what a ridiculous thing to collect, by the way), but this box was the one that took the most time.

I'm not sure if you can tell, but this is a box FULL of letters, drawings, and pictures. Apparently this live-simply, clean-out-my-closet-monthly, don't-keep-things-I-don't-use girl was once a hoarder of cards, notes, and pictures. And not just the sentimental ones....EVERY one (even random gift tags from Christmas presents). It was so entertaining to find long letters from long-distance pen pals, drawings from my sisters, postcards and notes from my next-door neighbor, and countless church members in our small church who had sent "get well soon," "congratulations," and "miss you" cards, along with all the other holidays. The pictures were a little less exciting as I forgot about how we use to develop every picture on a roll of film, and how many pictures I would take of our cats' multiple litters of kittens (they were cute, though!).

But, it made me hate that we don't do that anymore...most of my youth don't have pen pals and letters and cards are becoming a thing of the past. I hate this! I am such a card/letter/note person. I believe it makes such a huge difference when someone sends a note in the mail, even if it's just a simple note. And I am thankful that I developed this habit at a young age. I actually love to send notes. (And as an aside, so does Peyton Manning--who I love for many other reasons--as spelled out here.)

But, it has recently come to my attention that I don't take time to write in other areas...I type almost everything, and my Bible study time--if it even happens-- is more of a check-off than a time to really listen to what God is saying to me and how He is leading me. In a book, I recently read that the best way to change this is to journal--even for those that hate journaling--to make it a habit so that I'm actually thinking about what I'm reading. And, then, in another book, I read about how having a gratitude journal--just writing down blessings or thank-you's--can dramatically change your life (I think the stat was increase happiness by 20%!).

So, I'm going to challenge myself to try a little harder to write in my journal...not my "Dear Diary" of middle school, but the ideas, blessings, visions, and lessons I am being taught. What about you? Do you journal or write down your thoughts?