Journaling

Hey bloggy friends,
I'm having one of those days. You know the kind... take two steps forward and then retreat as fast as you can because every little thing that can get dumped on you will... make that IS! All at once.

When I woke up the sun was shining through the window like it usually does. I said my good morning to God. The coffee poured forth -- really, my one big vice. I ate yogurt. I did a load of laundry. And then...

BOOM!!!

With no warning, and seemingly without reason, one kid's whining and pouting. Another is glaring at me as if I am the cause of all things evil -- especially schoolwork. Everyone's grumpy. I'm quick to jump on the bandwagon. Ohhh...

We've had these days. They rarely turn out well.

Then I got an email reminder from a friend. She threw my own words back at me. If you want to throw them at me, too, they're here. She's right, of course! I read back over that post -- and a whole bunch of posts from the month of March. Then, I dug out my journal (you think I'm wide open on my blog? You should get a glimpse of what I throw at God every day!!! Or, maybe you shouldn't...).

Yep, right there. The whole month. I struggled with peace in every circumstance. Contentment. Patience. It's the same struggle I'm having today.

Here's where the journaling changes things, though. I can read through the month of March and see where I went. I can see how God led me through the battles in my heart and in my mind. I can remember how God held me up when I wanted to cave in. I can see that it all turned out okay...

And then I know.

This day will turn out okay, too. This day will teach us all something. More on patience, peace and contentment. Or at the very least, a little more on forgiveness.

Even in my dark moments (please, God, don't let them be hours), there's something to learn. In that, I find joy -- the joy of Romans 15:13.