Last year, I came across a box of old momentos from when I was a kid. It was so much fun for me to sort through the items—remembering (and trashing) the old trophies, reading through old diaries and papers, laughing at my early art and browsing through old photo albums and yearbooks.
After school ended, so did a lot of my self-documentation. Sure, I have some photos here and there, but I no longer journaled, I wasn’t great at taking pictures—especially with me in them—and I didn’t save many of my things to remember those periods in my life. I have always had a terrible memory, and because I haven’t been recording well, I have lost many details from many years of my life.
After my grandpa passed away last month, we sorted through some of his and my grandma’s belongings. We had quite a few laughs reading through their old love letters. Sorrowfully, we read letters from my grandmother’s brother from the Vietnam war before he died in action. We eagerly looked up their favorite Bible verses and studied old photos of them.
Going through these items from the past and living right now during this historic pandemic made me realize how important it is to document our lives. Can you imagine how interesting it would be to read a great-grandparent’s journal from their life during the flu pandemic in 1918? One day our kids and grandkids will study about the Coronavirus Pandemic of 2020 in their history classes.
If you haven’t been great about recording your story, it’s never too late to start, and what better time than now?
Our memories fade so quickly.
Sometimes I struggle to recall what I had for lunch yesterday, much less what I was thinking 10 years ago when I made a life-changing decision or lost a loved one. You can’t argue with documented proof. Sometimes I wish I could go back to revisit certain times of my life.
Our stories matter.
No one else has lived in your shoes. Whether your road was paved in gold and filled with rainbows and butterflies, or it was a jagged path filled with monsters and wrong turns, your story matters. Your experiences have helped shape who you are and God can use your story for his glory.
We learn from our mistakes.
By examining your past, you can learn from it and grow stronger. You may be able to see in hindsight where you made a mistake, noting lessons learned and gaining wisdom. When you persevere through hard times, you become better equipped to share your story in a way that might help others who are struggling.
We preserve an account of history.
You don’t know what your future holds, but by documenting your present, you can preserve your history to some extent. You may never want to go back and review it, but what if you did and couldn’t because you didn’t record it in any way? You may want to write a memoir one day, and documentation of your history would prove to be extremely useful in that case.
We can work through feelings privately.
There may be feelings and thoughts you cannot share with anyone, but writing them down may provide you with an outlet to connect with your feelings privately without judgement. By being honest with yourself, you may be able to be more authentic with God and with others.
Our family might appreciate our memories.
If you choose to leave your life documentation for your family or friends to sort through one day, they may appreciate having the memories to read, listen to or watch. They might enjoy the insight into parts of your life that were previously unknown to them.
We can see how God was moving in our story all along.
Sometimes it’s easier to see God’s design when you stand back and look at the big picture. Your recorded story may clarify how he orchestrated even the smallest detail for your good.
Here are a few ways to consider documenting your life:
- Keep a journal (handwritten or electronic)
- Keep a quick “one-line-a-day” journal
- Take photos (with yourself in them!)
- Post on social media, but remember that these programs are temporary. (You could print Chatbooks from Instagram posts to keep those posts.)
- Record videos (ordinary life as well as big events, with you talking or on camera)
- Record audio of you telling stories from your life
- Take notes in your Bible
- Keep a gratitude journal
- Keep a prayer journal (a great way to see how God’s faithfulness!)
- Write letters or emails to other people
- Use the 1 Second Everyday app to record daily life. (More to come on this in a future Favorites post!)
- Save the magazines or newspapers with major headlines or from meaningful dates
- Write a memoir
- Keep a travel journal
You may only be able to try one of these, or you might like to try several different ways to document your life to see what you can manage. Don’t add something difficult to an already overloaded plate – just do what you can in whatever season you’re in. No need to stress about it or add any “should” guilt.
One more thing–I’ve heard Beth Moore say that she made her daughters promise that when she dies, the first thing they must do is go to her house and burn her journals. This made me chuckle, but how brilliant is this?!?
Even if no one else ever sees it but you, document your life. Encourage your kids to do so, as well.
You can always throw away or delete photos and journals, but you can never recreate them.
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