A Practical Walk

I sat down in bed and started writing in my thankful journal. It started off with a list of cares to cast upon the Lord, then I shifted to thanks and before I knew it, I was writing something entirely unplanned. For privacy’s sake I won’t tell you what I was writing about, but I realized it wasn’t even what was on my mind when I crawled into bed. What I was writing was helping me to formulate my thoughts in a way that was clearer on this particular subject, than I’d ever done before. I had thought and talked about this before, but this time I was able to make connections and write it out clearly.

It wasn’t what I had planned to pen tonight, it’s just where my flow of thoughts led me. Why does writing help me like this?

I don’t have a complete answer to that question, but I think part of it is that when I’m just thinking in my head, my thoughts bounce everywhere, but when I’m actually writing something out, it helps me to focus on that one thing. I can’t be doing other things while I write. My eyes have to look at the page, my hand is occupied, so I’m more focused than when I’m just sitting and thinking.

I’m thankful for a smart God, who made His image bearers to be able to read and write. Think of how different the world would be if we didn’t have this tool to helps us process things (let alone the communication hurdle!).

I don’t know where my writings may lead, but usually for me they lead to more clarity and being able to form my thoughts better.

Do you write in a journal, blog, or other platform? What benefits have you found from it?