Prayerful penning

Most every morning Tom Elliott starts his day by writing to God. He’s partial to penning letters to the Father in a form of spiritual discipline known as journaling.

In the eight years since he took up the practice, Elliott, pastor of Christ the King Catholic Church in Fort Smith, has filled thousands of pages with letters to God.

“I write almost every day. It’s a rarity that I don’t,” he said.

Sometimes the priest carries on a conversation with God, writing down his portion in the journal before spending time reflecting and listening for a reply.

“If God shares anything back with me it might lead me to continue writing,” he said. “Other times I have more of a conversation in prayer with God and at the end I use the journal to record what took place, the feelings that came up during prayer and what I was really sharing with God.”

A spiritual journal isn’t the same as a diary. It’s more than a log of the day’s events. A spiritual journal is meant to focus more on interactions with God, more on feelings than on facts. In the realm of spiritual disciplines - among them fasting, praying the Scriptures and confession - journal writing is about as easy as it gets. Practitioners are limited only by their willingness to put their thoughts on paper or on the computer screen.

“[W]hen it comes to journaling there really is no wrong way to do it,” said Donald Whitney, author of Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life.

Whitney, associate professor of biblicalspirituality at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., said journaling can be done in a variety of ways and for many reasons - to record personal meditations on Scripture, to reflect on life events or as part of daily prayer.

“It’s a way to put into expression things that are looking for a way to be expressed,” he said.

For Elliott, spiritual journalkeeping provides a sense of continuity in his journey with God. The simple act of writing down his thoughts and feelings gives him a reference point, one he can return to again and again.

“When I wasn’t writing anything down in a journal I would easily forget where God and I had been, so to speak,” Elliott said. “The journal helped me to have a sense of where we had been. That continuity has been a huge help. It makes my relationship with God so much more personal and it’sreally helped me to see how it’s constantly deepening.”

By referring to past journals, Elliott said, he can see how his spiritual life has changed from last week, a year ago or even five years ago. He can see his progress, which he finds encouraging.

Elliott uses pen and paper to write his journals instead of a computer, which he finds too distracting. He also likes the tangible nature of a bound journal, as well as the slow, methodical pace.

“Despite the fact that I don’t like to write and it hurts my hand, it’s worth the pain,” he said. “There’s something to be said for physically writing it.”

Elliott is such a fan of journaling that he recommends it to parishioners, particularly those who come to him for counseling. He encourages them to give it a try. In his own life, journaling has given him a way to get intouch with his emotions, but he realizes it’s not an easy practice to maintain.

“Forming a habit of journaling is so difficult because we don’t like to write things down, and many of us don’t write at all anymore,” he said. “And there’s the fear of someone finding your journal. A journal is worthless unless we are completely honest ... and that keeps people from getting into the habit.”

At the Baptist seminary, Whitney requires his students to keep a journal. He says it’s a way for them to clarify their thoughts and feelings.

“A student will believe that she or he understands an issue but when the professor requires them to write out a paragraph, you have to be far more concise and cogent. The same is true with these amorphous things going on with the soul. Putting them down can be clarifying,” he said.

Whitney said journaling as a spiritual discipline isn’t something that’s found in the Bible, but he believes it’s something countlessChristians have found to be valuable.

“The Bible does not require us to keep a journal, but I think there is a biblical basis for something very much like it found in the Bible,” Whitney said, pointing to David’s musing in the Psalms as an example.

Whitney said journalkeeping can be used as a mirror of what’s going on in a person’s life and as a means of evaluation, as well as a way to draw closer to Christ.

“It’s a way of remembering what God has done in your life. You think ‘I’ll never forget that,’ but life goes on and you do,” he said.

Whitney is particularly interested in using the practice as a way to pass on a spiritual heritage to future generations.

“There are things in my life my daughter would never know unless it were written down somewhere. I want her to know how I came to Christ, about how we were told for 16 years we could never be parents. Just great events that are a part of ourfamily’s spiritual heritage.

“Your children will never know that story unless you write it down.”

Macrina Wiederkehr, an author and a Benedictine nun at St. Scholastica Monastery in Fort Smith, has been writing in a journal since the early 1970s. She doesn’t write every day, but does share some of her journal online at macrina-underthesyca moretree.blogspot.com.

“I can’t tell you the day that my diary became a journal, but there’s a difference in my estimation,” Wiederkehr said. “The journal can move as you grow in your development and spiritual life. The facts may still be there, but you put a little more meat on them.”

Wiederkehr said she enjoys writing in her journal early in the mornings and she prefers using pen andpaper. She then edits the entry and posts it online. Sometimes, she also records an oral journal.

“It’s soul writing, I sometimes call it,” she said.

Even though she has been journaling for decades, Wiederkehr said she still struggles with it, just as with any other spiritual discipline. She started the online spiritual journal in part to help her remain faithful to the practice.

“It might sound strange, because even though I’m doing it partially for myself, when I do it online it also becomes a ministry. It can be helpful to people also struggling,” she said.

When leading retreats around the country Wiederkehr encourages participants to try it, even if it is a struggle.

“My experience is that people are looking for ways to grow spiritually and I think it’s a wonderful spiritual discipline to get you into the heart of your spiritual life, how God is working and how you are growing,” she said. “But it takes practice to do that. ... Remember the journal is for yourself. It doesn’t have to be a New York Times best-seller.”Starting a journalDonald Whitney, author of Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, says a spiritual journal can be written with pen and loose leaf paper, in a fancy or plainbound volume or on the computer. A blog can also be used as a journal. The important thing is to keep the journal focused on your journey with God.

He offers the following advice: Don’t focus on length. Even one thought-provoking sentence is enough some days.

And, if you don’t have time to write every day, don’t fret and don’t worry about catching up. Start fresh the next day.

Whitney said using prompts or leading questions is a good way to get started. He shared these ideas for beginning a new year. An entire 31 days worth is online at biblicalspirituality.org/newyear.html.

What’s the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?

What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?

In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?

What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?

In what area of your life do you most need change, and what will you do about it this year?

More general prompts include the following: What was the most important thing that happened today?

What did I learn today?

Where did I see God at work today?

What was the most significant thing someone said to me today?

When was I most aware of the Lord today?

What was the most helpful thing I read today?

What should I have done differently today?

How can I simplify my life tomorrow?

What could I do to glorify God the most tomorrow?

What difference can I make in someone’s life tomorrow?