Why is writing good for the soul? For me, It cements truths in my mind that I already know but too often forget. I have good intentions to remember, but life throws its challenges, and I get bogged down in negative emotions.
Lamentations 3:19-24 says it perfectly, “I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” (NIV).
Every day, we have a choice about what we will let our minds recall. I can remember all the struggle, pain, and disappointment; the result will be that “my soul (will be) downcast within me.” The other option is to call to mind what I know from past experience and the truths I read in God’s word, that His love and faithfulness to me never run out. Every morning I awake, His faithfulness is evident in the rising sun and the breath in my lungs. This kind of remembering produces hope! If God has brought me through to this point, I can trust Him to continue to see me through this current hurdle!
As Christians, we are called to bear witness to God’s faithfulness, and as we speak (or write) hope to our own hearts by recalling His love and mercy, we can stir hope in others who struggle to recall God's faithfulness to them.
Recalling my affliction (calamity, suffering, adversity, misfortune, trial, ordeal) = a downcast (discouraged, disappointed, disheartened, miserable, cheerless) soul.
Recalling God’s love, compassion (grace, kindness, mercy, tenderness) and faithfulness (constancy, dependability, loyalty, trustworthiness) = HOPE (confidence, expectation, dependence, endurance).
God‘s faithfulness towards us, does not mean we receive everything we want but that He will, in His time, give us everything we need to produce in us a heart after God.
Mary Folkerts is mom to four kids and wife to a farmer, living on the southern prairies of Alberta, where the skies are large and the sunsets stunning. She is a Proverbs 31 ministries COMPEL Writers Training member and is involved in church ministries and music. Mary’s personal blog aims to encourage and inspire women and advocate for those with Down Syndrome, as their youngest child introduced them to this extraordinary new world. For more inspiration, check out Joy in the small things https://maryfolkerts.com/ or connect on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maryfolkerts/
Thank you, dear Mary, for this deeply encouraging post. Amen to these words of yours that resonate with my writer's heart: "It cements truths in my mind that I already know but too often forget."
ReplyDeleteI love that God daily bears our burdens and refreshes our souls. He's so good. (Beautiful picture of your daughter.)
Blessings.
Thanks for this powerful post Mary
ReplyDeleteThank you so much I envy you your view and your wonderful children and family. God bless you as you keep feeding the rest of the world with food and with grain and with words, Brenda Wood.
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