Can't find the words
Good morning, fans of John and Charles Wesley! I’m on vacation this week, so it will be a shorter commentary with a silly comic. Spiritual journalling is one of those disciplines that I always imagine myself being great at. Growing up, I did creative writing ALL the time. I was able to keep a fairly consistent spiritual journal for about a year (feels like a major accomplishment!) but then the practice just completely disappeared from my life. I sit down and stare at the journal and I’m like, what on earth do I write about?
Baber ident 300
I love the idea of the Ignatian Awareness Examen, of taking time to slow down and reflect on every aspect of your day, asking the careful questions about how God was present in each moment. But for some reason, I just suck at it! I simplify the process and just say to myself, God was fully present in every moment. I feel God’s presence, and I feel present to God. I have entered a stage of life where I pray with my feelings rather than with wordy prayers. I pay attention to how I’m feeling and focus on the gratitude I have for what’s going on. I can’t seem to put words to it. My spiritual director says that this is okay and even a natural stage of prayer, so I’m not too worried about it!
Today’s comic relies on your knowledge of John Wesley as a prolific journaller. Charles also kept a journal, it seems to be a very popular thing to do in the 1700s. It’s amazing the level of detail some of these journal entries maintain. More power to them! I’d love to hear about your own prayer practices. What do you do when you struggle to find the words? What does prayer look like for you these days?