Healing Art

I have been busy preparing two "beginning art journaling" journals for two teenage girls in Georgia as a personal Pay-It-Forward project.  Their mom and I have been internet friends for quite some time and the entire family has been dealing with a lot of challenging issues surrounding their 13 year old daughter, who is currently in a residential treatment facility.  The younger sister, age 12, is naturally worried about her elder sister and their parents think that writing and journaling about their experiences will help them with their recovery.  This is totally a labor of love for me.  Not only are these people my friends, when someone reaches out, we must extend our hands to help any way we can.  I am told both girls like to write and create, so art journaling may come naturally to them.  

This is a sneak peek at the eldest daughter's journal. It has turned into a rather chunky monkey, with lots of tip-ins and art space for her to draw and doodle.  I left a lot of writing/journaling space for her to work through the challenges she is facing.  

Both journals will go out in Friday's mail, along with some art supplies and some journaling prompts to get them both kick-started in this field we love so much.  Creative art and journaling have long been proven to help with the healing process, whether from emotional distress, illness, grief or any of a myriad of life's challenges. The cathartic nature of journaling helps me often, and I am so in hopes that these two journals bring a smile to the faces of these young ladies and helps them through this troubling time in their lives.  Living my life with the "sharing is caring" emphasis has brought me more blessings than I can count. 

 By paying it forward, I can only hope that one day, these girls will be able to do the same for someone.