Memorial Markers
Today is my day off from my daily responsibilities and I’ve spent the better part of the morning working on my blog. It’s unseasonably cool today so the windows are open and a light breeze is coming through them. For some reason I feel very reflective today. I’ve been re-reading past blog posts, trying to decide what I’d like to write about next. It’s been a fairly quiet morning and I’ve allowed myself to just think, read, dream, process. I love days like that. I have to force myself to take time to do that and it always feels good. No time agenda, nothing pressing. Just letting my mind wander here and there.
Do you ever allow yourself times like that? An hour here and there during the week to just let your mind rest and wander? I find it to be so necessary in our hurried lifestyle and rapid pace. It’s a way of cleansing your mind, so to speak. Airing out your thoughts, gathering ideas, dreaming and ultimately letting God into those hidden places. I felt His prompting early this morning before sunrise and spent time just talking to Him about things that had been on my heart and mind, reading in Psalms, which really speaks to me and just resting in His presence.
If you’ve been reading my blogs you know how passionate I am about journaling. I have to admit that I haven’t been doing it as much lately, which makes me sad in a way. Coming to that realization I’ve promised myself to get it out where I can easily access it. It’s strange, isn’t it, how some things are so much a part of your life in some seasons and not so in others. A year ago, I couldn’t go a day without writing in mine but now it’s just not a part of my day. I had to ask myself why.
Had it just been something that was a part of my healing back then or my way of coping and now I didn’t need it so much? Have I begun a new season that those daily journals are my memorial markers to go back to only when I need them? It reminds me of the Israelites in the Old Testament of the Bible. Every time there was a significant event, God would tell them to leave behind a reminder in different forms for the next generation. So when the younger generations would pass them on their own journey, they could ask what they represent and could be told of the powerful ways that God met the needs of their ancestors. It was a wonderful way to encourage them to trust God for anything they were believing Him for.
What reminders do you have in place? Are you like me and your Bible is full of yellow highlighter marks and all the open spaces covered in writing? Those are memorial markers as well. Verses, parts of sermons I’ve heard that have made an impact on me, answered prayers that are dated. They all serve as a reminder of His faithfulness, of how far I’ve come and what dreams are still waiting to be realized.
May I suggest, beautiful friend, that you take some time this week and just spend an hour or so just, well, being…Get alone, get quiet and get dreaming! In the fitness industry we talk a lot about cleansing our bodies, inside and out. Taking several days and dedicating it self-care. Clean eating cleanse, fasting, massage. I love the idea of those things, especially after a season of stress and unhealthy eating but we need it for our minds as well. I dare say, even more so because so much of what we commit to doing for our inner body starts in our minds. So much of the battle to stay the course of healthy eating and living is in our minds. So why not take care to give it some love and time.
I’d love to hear how you do this in your own life! Let’s learn together!
