The Time Machine

There is a song by Kenny Chesney called "Better Boat" that has some great lines.  My absolute favorite line is, "I let God do what he does." Here is a link to that song if you would like to listen.

Better Boat

It would be so freeing to let go and let God do what he does.  I pray to God for so many matters but many times fail to see the answers he gives.  Sometimes it is because I have tunnel vision and the answers don't look like I expect.  Often I don't see what he is doing because his timing is not my timing. Watching for change is like watching the motion of the hour hand on a clock.

So to get a different perspective, at the end of a year I like to go back and review my journal.  As I was reading my 2018 journal I realized that it was my time machine. It is easier to see change when I looked back to compare.  I could see God doing what he does.  I saw my silly worries.  I was reminded of the deliverance he provided.  I saw the "no" answers as well as all the "later" and "yes" answers.  I saw the painful mistakes followed by victorious days.  It is like time lapse photography on the growth of a flower.  It changes the pace and lets me see miracles that are easily overlooked.   I saw change and growth in my relationship with Christ and I saw his amazing patience and love for me.

Due to arthritis in my hands, writing is painful, so journaling did not come naturally to me. I started it by chunking and summarizing months in a little tiny spiral over 14 years ago.  As time went on, I was further inspired by the character Aibileen in The Help who wrote all her prayers, and made this practice a big part of my journaling. When I went digital I found that the task was not painful on my hands and errors were easily edited. My thoughts began to flow onto the digital page like a break in a dam.  I began the digital journaling by using a journaling app.  Here is a little advice: after losing the bigger half of 2016, I learned to use a reliable company that backs up in the cloud! Currently, I journal every morning in my iPad using the notepad on iCloud.

If you choose to record 2019, many days all you may get written down is the date and a sentence.  That is fine.  If you skip, that is fine.  Come up with a system that works for you and each year you can improve on it.  Soon you will be able to look back and see God doing what he does.  Then maybe you will be able to better trust Him with your tomorrow.