I had heard about Henry B. Eyring's experience with his journaling about God's hand over the years. I found an old journal on my shelf the other day, and felt inspired to start my own. Now, whether on my "singing bees" blog or in there, I seek to record daily ways I have seen the hand of God. I haven't missed a day, but it is amazing how freeing it is to know I can just write down one or two things and then crash.
This process has also been a calming and powerful influence to my soul. It seems counter-intuitive, defies logic, and just genuinely baffling that something as simple as writing down a sentence or two can bring such peace, but I have found this true of most of God's ways:
Excerpts from Elder Eyring: "When
our children were very small, I started to write down a few things
about what happened every day. Let me tell you how that got started. I
came home late from a Church assignment. It was after dark. My
father-in-law, who lived near us, surprised me as I walked toward the
front door of my house. He was carrying a load of pipes over his
shoulder, walking very fast and dressed in his work clothes. I knew that
he had been building a system to pump water from a stream below us up
to our property.
"He
smiled, spoke softly, and then rushed past me into the darkness to go
on with his work. I took a few steps toward the house, thinking of what
he was doing for us, and just as I got to the door, I heard in my
mind—not in my own voice—these words: “I’m not giving you these
experiences for yourself. Write them down.”
"I
went inside. I didn’t go to bed. Although I was tired, I took out some
paper and began to write. And as I did, I understood the message I had
heard in my mind. I was supposed to record for my children to read,
someday in the future, how I had seen the hand of God blessing our
family. Grandpa didn’t have to do what he was doing for us. He could
have had someone else do it or not have done it at all. But he was
serving us, his family, in the way covenant disciples of Jesus Christ
always do. I knew that was true. And so I wrote it down, so that my
children could have the memory someday when they would need it.
"I
wrote down a few lines every day for years. I never missed a day no
matter how tired I was or how early I would have to start the next day.
Before I would write, I would ponder this question: “Have I seen the
hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family
today?” As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my
mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of
us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that
happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had
allowed God to show me what He had done.
"More
than gratitude began to grow in my heart. Testimony grew. I became ever
more certain that our Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. I felt
more gratitude for the softening and refining that come because of the
Atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ. And I grew more confident that the
Holy Ghost can bring all things to our remembrance—even things we did
not notice or pay attention to when they happened.
"The
years have gone by. My boys are grown men. And now and then one of them
will surprise me by saying, “Dad, I was reading in my copy of the
journal about when …” and then he will tell me about how reading of what
happened long ago helped him notice something God had done in his day.
My
point is to urge you to find ways to recognize and remember God’s
kindness. It will build our testimonies. You may not keep a journal. You
may not share whatever record you keep with those you love and serve.
But you and they will be blessed as you remember what the Lord has done.
You remember that song we sometimes sing: “Count your many blessings;
name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.”
Here is a link to the full talk on LDS.org: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/10/o-remember-remember?lang=eng
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