Writing it down

Palm trees through the glass on a rainy day- a moment to savor.

Here are some recent, happy memories:

-Siwa and Jesse stay up til midnight last night laughing and talking.  I don't know what they find to laugh about, but they do it.

-Mary runs up and down the trail bringing me little flowers, kissing my cheek with big wet ones and saying "I love you," and "Oh, you can wipe that off if you want to."

-I go to town with a friend.  She zips in and out of traffic, changing lanes with ease, telling stories and making me laugh out loud.  She brings me home, I give her a hug and walk through the door smiling.

-A crash and a scream, and then, Mary crying.  I hear Jesse asking her if she's alright.  There's a mess on the kitchen floor of cracked bottles and spilled concoctions from a fallen fridge drawer.  I go into the kitchen and see Jesse showing her how to clean it up. She stays with Mary until it's done, calmly pointing out missed spots.

-We're driving home.  Through the rear view mirror, I see the girls' contemplative looks as they gaze out the windows, some facing the mountains, some the ocean.  For some reason this means so much to me.

-I have an epiphany, after weeks of struggling and asking for answers, my eyes are open, nothing changes in my life but me- my attitude, my perspective and my actions.  I see things more clearly and am at peace.  God loves me and life is good.

None of the above short stories are what you might call extraordinary- just quiet or simple experiences; but the writing of them has transformed them from passing, fleeting memories to the significance of lasting ones- memories that I can examine whenever I need to be reminded of how good life is.  The very process of writing them down pulls these happenings to the forefront of my mind, and reaffirms to me that God is aware of, and involved in my life.  That's one huge reason why this blog has been such a joy to me, blogging has been yet another reminder of the blessings dropping daily from Heaven all around us.

Writing down the events of life has helped me examine how God works in my life.  I understand better why He allows bad things to happen and I see how He has succored me and answered my prayers.  I can look back on my life, the written record of it, and say, "These things actually happened, I lived them," and day in, day out, over the course of years, in spite of trials, and maybe, especially because of the trials, they make for a wonderful and happy life- even an extraordinary one. I think so many of us are living extraordinary lives and totally unaware of it.  What quiet, simple things have happened in your life lately?  Even in the midst of challenges?  Got a pen?

Writing about my life has helped me to see and savor the good, in the middle of difficult times.  When so many negative voices are clamoring for attention, I can stop for a moment, pick up a pen and write; and in doing so, know that there was more to my day, more to my life than the tumult and the roar.  Sometimes I have to turn off the news and pick up a pen, and then it all comes clear again.  Writing has  brought a peace and stability to me, because I can see the bigger picture, like I'm holding a map of my life in my hands.  I may not have the whole picture yet, I may not know how the narrative ends, but I know who I am- the heroine of my own story; and I can see patterns in that story- patterns of how God works in my life, and that gives me hope for days ahead.