The other side of my day

Today was a day of great celebration on a community level and I feel privileged to be alive as our country make such strong strides towards equality. On a personal level, however, today is a difficult one in a string of many.

On Sunday I miscarried after six weeks of pregnancy, three weeks of false hope, and two weeks of mournful waiting for myself and Wesley. Miscarriage is intense. I'm exhausted. It is a dramatic and visceral experience that is difficult to describe politely.

After a few days of fatigue but gradually lessening discomfort, the pain returned today with such fierceness I thought I would faint. This journey is not over yet, it seems.

I've had great support from Wesley, family, and a few close friends but I don't want to feel like I need to keep this a secret anymore. I need your support. And one day you may need my support because miscarriage is common, normal even.

I'm sharing all of this with you because it's too tiring not to share it anymore and beyond that we need to normalize this conversation. We need to learn (myself included) how to talk to each other when this happens.

Your prayers are appreciated and know that I will support you in spirit and in person should you ever miscarry.

Let's open the door to conversation about this. Let's talk openly and share comfort and knowledge with each other. Let's strip away the stigma that makes us want to stay silent. Let's lift each other up.

Kindly yours,
Eryn

Writing Prompts for Joyful Journaling Workshop

I presented a workshop on Joyful Journaling to the Adults Who Work With Youth conference held at Kanuga Conference Center in Flat Rock, NC last week. It was deeply gratifying to share with others the simple truth that writing doesn't have to be arduous to be fruitful. I hope that you will find at least one or two interesting and take a few minutes to have fun with your writing.

Writing Prompts

• Write a narrative about your morning routine. After you have written it, reflect, what do you enjoy about your routine? How could your routine be improved?

• Doodle for two to three minutes. Write about your doodle in the blank spaces.

• Write a simple gratitude list. Continue this practice by adding one or two things to the list daily or weekly.

• Look back on your gratitude list for inspiration for narrative writing.

• Find an old photo of yourself. Write the story behind it.

• Write about your most memorable childhood vacation.

• Write about a personal experience that felt miraculous.

• Going down the alphabet, write one word or phrase that comes to mind for each letter.

• Write down a list of your favorite hymns, prayers, and verses. Reflect back on this list from time to time and reflect on the personal meaning of a particular work.

• Write a poem in three lines.

• Write a journal entry on a sticky note.

• Write a love letter to someone special.

• Imagine you have met Jesus in the checkout line at the grocery store. Describe the experience.

• Keep an ongoing prayer list.

• Celebrate the ordinary.

Best regards,
Eryn

Joyful Journaling

Fellow Sojourners,

I commend your interest in giving your thoughts form. May our words teach us how to live more fully into the moment that has been given today.

God is not only to be found on the mountain tops; he is at the shore, in the fishing boat, walking the market with us, sharing our meal. By writing about the everyday, about the seemingly mundane thoughts in our head as we wait in line at the grocery store or watch our children on the playground, we are better able to see the beauty in the simple moments of our lives.

As writers it is easy to set the trap of trying to dig too deep into personal sorrow for a story we deem interesting or to feel that each time we write should be a private therapy session. When that happens we can quickly end up stranded, lost in a dark sea of thoughts with no light, no direction, and no enrichment. This leads to frustration that can cause the pen and paper to be stuffed in a drawer, forgotten for years to come. Imagine all of the beautiful thoughts that were not allowed to surface when this has happened.

Do not snuff out the light in your heart by creating for yourself an imagined obligation to divulge all of your pain and all of your struggles with each time you sit to write. Instead, allow yourself to stay close to shore, riding exciting waves as they bring you towards land and pull you out into the unknown with comforting rhythm.

Be willing to write in short bursts, on sticky notes and in margins, in a small notebook or at the edge of a doodle. Do not feel obligated to purge your thoughts or fill the page. Not everything written must be worthy of the next gut-wrenching memoir for the ages.

Have faith in the spiritual being that you are. You do not have to perform a literary autopsy on yourself or your past experiences for your words to have depth and meaning.

Allow a space for beauty in your heart and on your paper and the story will come. It will come gently like a wild bird being coaxed first by the suet on the tree and eventually to the seeds in your hand.

Best regards,
Eryn Duffee-Braun