A Practice of Remembering

I love a good notebook.  One where the cover opens all the way, so it is easy to write on the whole page, without worrying about bumping up against the binding.  I don’t really like a spiral binding, as it tends to be bulky, but I do like a flexible moleskine, where I can bend the cover back and have it be out of the way.  

For as long as I can remember, I have been writing words in notebooks - logging thoughts about various scriptures, recording prayers, and documenting seasons of life.  

Writing things down helps me to remember.  

In the same way that I tend to read multiple books at one time, I tend to have multiple notebooks at one time.  This hasn’t always been true.  I used to just have one, and when I finished it I’d start a new one.   However, that has changed over the years. 

For instance, I’m currently working on exploring the ways that my body has held trauma for decades.  I’m unpacking certain events and recording what I remember as the Holy Spirit brings it to my memory.  This is all housed in one notebook.  I’m able to add notes about things that come up in counseling, as well as in my prayer time, related to this healing, which allows everything I’m learning to be in one place.  

I have a notebook for all of the things I’m learning in my spiritual direction program.  It is a place where I can glance back and see notes from the books I’ve read pertaining to that specific subject, and easily remember what was important to me.  

I have a notebook for the coaching work that I do, outlining my past training so that I can refer back to it, be reminded of what I was taught, and get up to speed on anything I’ve forgotten.  

I have a notebook where I write down the questions I have about things I’m reading in Scripture and want to dig deeper into over time.  

And I also have what would probably be considered a journal, where I write about things happening in my life, as well as where I record things that I am praying about.  

Now, this might seem like a lot of notebooks.  And that is fair.  However, I do not pull them all out every day.  I grab the one I need depending on what I am doing.  

For me, having multiple notebooks has become easier.  It is easier to find what I’m looking for when I flip through the notebook.  Instead of all of these thoughts and ideas being in one book, they are split into their own spaces with plenty of pages available to explore that topic further.  

We all have different ways of logging data.  Maybe you love notebooks like I do.  Maybe you like to keep everything on your phone or on your computer.  Maybe you have a stellar memory and don’t need to write anything down - if that is you, please know I’m a little jealous of you, and also know that is such a tremendous gift! 

It really isn’t about which method you choose, it is more about the intentionality of noticing what the Holy Spirit is revealing to you in your life.  What method helps you to remember what you are learning and how you are growing, so that you can celebrate the transformation happening as you draw close to Jesus?  That’s the method for you!

~  Melissa