3 Key Lessons for Journaling in Difficult Seasons

I remember when my kiddos were little. Those months after bringing a baby home just radically change how you do life, don’t they? From trying to figure out how to get some sleep to finding time to shower to learning what temperature to warm their bottle and when they can start eating different foods… it’s just all so much.

Journaling in that season looked a lot different than it did in other, more ordinary life seasons.

And then there are situations where you stop journaling altogether, like Elizabeth McCravy shared back in episode 55. When her dad died, it was about a year before she picked up her journal again.

The choice is up to you, whether you journal during difficult seasons or not. You’ll know what’s right for you. God will guide you in that.

But if you’re finding yourself wanting to journal during this time and aren’t sure how to, I want to offer you 3 tips so that you can still reap the benefits from journaling and also stay close to God.

All of these ideas come directly out of my Journal Gently program, where you get 8 weeks of training and support to journal through your grief and trauma. So if they resonate with you, go ahead and check that program out at lovedoesthat.org/journalgently.

Small Steps

I can tend to be an “all or nothing” kind of gal. If there’s something I want to learn about it, I’m grabbing books and researching podcasts and all the things, right?

But that can actually hurt me—and you—when it comes to healing.

Because it prevents us from taking any steps forward. Life gets hard, it gets busy, and since we can’t dive in like we want to, we don’t dive in at all.

So tip number 1 is to take small steps.

What does that look like?

Well, it could look like a five-minute journaling session. You have no idea how much you can write, how much insight you can gain, by journaling for only five minutes. Try it sometime! Set a timer and just free write for five minutes. Or find a journaling prompt and write about that. Five minutes is plenty of time to journal about something. It’s enough.

It could also look like a one-line journal. On those days when even five minutes feels like more than you can give, try a one-line journal. This is where you simply write one line or sentence every day. They make journals specifically for this, but you can certainly just use a notebook or blank journal. Summarize your day in one sentence. Or write a question weighing on your heart. Or note what happened that day, or a Bible verse that connected with you.

Take small steps. Those are a couple of ideas. Do you have any others? What might a small step look like for you?

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Your Pace

Have you ever walked on a track before? It can be so easy to compare ourselves to the others who are walking faster than we are. Maybe they’re even jogging, or dare I say running. Not me! I take it slow and steady.

But there are definitely times when thoughts go through my head like, I should be able to walk faster than this. How many times have they passed me now? What’s wrong with me?

When you walk or run or exercise, you’ve got to go at your own pace. And the same is true for you when you journal during difficult seasons.

So tip number 2 is to go at your pace, not someone else’s.

Learn to recognize what is too much for you. Learn to honor the steps that you are taking, however fast or slow.

You might choose to journal only 2 days a week. That’s okay! That’s good! Honor that.

Some days you might write and some days you might draw. That’s okay! That’s good. Honor that.

Don’t rush and don’t try to match your pace with others. Stick to the pace that is right for you.

Your Choice

That brings us to tip number 3: you choose what to write about.

Journaling during difficult seasons can be about that hard thing, but it doesn’t have to be. It might be listing things you’re grateful for. It might be taking time to remember how God has shown up in the past. Or maybe you decide to write about a dream you have for the future.

You get to choose. There is no set of questions or prompts or topics that you have to write about in the difficult season you are going through. Can prompts be helpful? Absolutely. But you get to be the one to decide that.

Journal Prompt: Which one of these do you need to lean into most right now?

So those are three key lessons I want you to keep in mind when you want to journal in a difficult season. First, take small steps. It’s better to take small, gentle steps that are do-able rather than trying to jump way ahead and fall. Second, go at your own pace. Don’t let others tell you you’re moving too fast or too slow. And third, you choose what to write about, whether it’s directly related to your situation or not.

Which one of these do you need to lean into most right now? That’s your journal prompt for this week. Write it down and, if you so desire, explore that a little in your journal.

Invitations to Dive Deeper

Now, I know the holidays are coming up, and many times, holidays can be those very seasons that are so hard. If you’d like more support during this upcoming holiday season, I have two invitations for you.

Pen Your Way to Peace Workshop

First, I invite you to grab the replay of a holiday workshop that Danielle Roberts and I did last year called Pen Your Way to Peace. This workshop will help you not only proactively create that schedule that will allow you to slow down over the holiday season, but it will also help you journal through some things that might be stealing your joy. You can grab that at lovedoesthat.org/holidayworkshop.

Pre-Holiday Journaling Challenge

Second, I encourage you to sign up for my Pre-Holiday Journaling Challenge. Let’s trim it back our schedule, create white space, and be intentional about what we’re inviting to our holiday party. That way, you can enter the holiday season with the peace and joy you’re so hungry for–even as you honor the loss.

We want to make time for this before the craziness begins, so it will take place October 28 through November 1, 2024. And when you show up and reply to each day’s email, you get a chance to win a free journal coaching session with me. You can sign up at lovedoesthat.org/holidayjournal.

Prayer

Today’s prayer is taken from Every Moment Holy, by Douglas McKelvey. It’s a short liturgy for difficult days.

Now enfolded in your grace, borne by your love,
and steadied by your constant presence, O Lord,
let me traverse this otherwise impassable day.

Amen.

RELATED EPISODES:

• Episode 55: Reflection and Journaling as a Lifelong Practice with Business Strategist Elizabeth McCravy
• Episode 54: 4 Simple Ways to Start (or Keep) Journaling
• Episode 137: 3 Easy Ways to Journal When You Don’t Know What to Write About
• Episode 144: How to Create Both a Short and Long Journaling Routine

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