Christian Widow Journal or Scrapbook Ideas
The loss of a spouse can be devastating and leave a widow feeling hopeless, helpless and as if their world will never be the same. Grief has to be given its measure, but so does joy, which as the Bible says, "Cometh in the morning." Christian widows can find their joy again when they attempt to use journaling and scrapbooking in order to help others in their midst and balance their own grief with joy.
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Journal for Others
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Putting your feelings down on paper, through journaling, can be therapeutic for you after the loss of a mate. But journaling as a widow can be helpful to other people too, so journal with an intended goal in order to turn your memories and pain into something special for other widows who will follow in your footsteps. Keep a separate journal for yourself, if you need to, and another one to share with new widows, recording the struggles you faced during the grieving process. This can help them know they are not alone and can be done one-on-one, in a church widow's Sunday School class or during a widow's Bible study group meeting.
Journal With Someone
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Don't journal alone. Organize a potluck supper for other widows in your church or community and ask them to bring a journal. After the meal have each widow share the Bible verse that has most helped them get through the days. Ask them to commit to a future of journaling with joy by focusing in their journal on all the things God has done to prove his faithfulness to them during their time of grief. Encourage widows to focus on "these praiseworthy things" as scripture teaches, and to gather once a week to journal and enjoy fellowship together--or to perform ministry, as Christian widow and author Miriam Neff advocates, and did--when she became a widow.
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Preserve It
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Go down memory lane for your grandchildren's sake. Create a scrapbook of your husband's pictures from birth to death, with labels acknowledging when and where the photos were taken and what was going on in them, or the names of other people in the pictures with him. Leaving this legacy of memories will be important if your grandchildren are too young to talk to you now or your health is not good. Ensure they have cherished photos to keep to help them transition later, as well as the information about their deceased grandfather. Be sure that a photo of him holding them is in the book, at the front, if he was alive at their birth.
Encourage Yourself
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Widowhood can be a lonely period in a person's life, especially if they are older and their adult children are living elsewhere. Encourage yourself as a widow. Make a scrapbook of photos of the happiest times in your and your spouse's life, with photos of your children included. Review it when you need encouragement. Share it when your family needs it.
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References
- Photo Credit BananaStock/BananaStock/Getty Images
