Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Hope Legacy Paper Bag Journal


Sharing a Keep the Faith project
from 14 years ago.
 My mom was diagnosed with uterine cancer
 and began chemotherapy treatments.
 I started sending my parents 
notes of hope and encouragement.
After her death in August 2004, 
 I was helping my dad sort life,
and I found the notes
and cards taped all over the house.
They were in the bathroom,
inside cupboard doors, and
on the wall of the bedroom.
 I didn't know what to do with them.
But, I knew one thing.
 I didn't know how to grieve
 the loss of a parent.
Somewhere along the way,
 I had seen a paper bag journal project.
This was long before Pinterest, 
and I don't really know how 
we came across new ideas.
 I used 6 basic lunch bags 
(not the extra large size)
 placed end to opposite end 
and a small pink paper bag for the center.
 The layers were hole punched
 in the center through all layers
 and tied with ribbon.
 The pockets serve as places
 to add the notes and memorabilia.
Recycled greeting cards-
(from sympathy cards) 
served as the extra embellishments.
I added a page of mom's handwriting.
Double sided tape secures the items on the pages.
Flaps are formed with a hole punch and a brad.
When sorting through boxes of old newspaper, 
I found the newspaper article 
about my great-grandmother's death in 1922.


When I saw what had been written 
about her in the church's newsletter-
Emanuel's Lutheran Church in Tipton, Indiana, 
 a new life's purpose was being shaped.
Great Grandma Anna was 
"a faithful wife to her husband, 
a devoted mother to her children, 
she was mindful not only of their bodily
 but also and especially of their  spiritual welfare."
That's legacy.
The forming of spiritual centering
 from one generation to the next.
Passing the baton.
So the pieces came together within
 the layers of a paper bag journal.
A grieving heart grasped the words of hope
 in Bible passages secured along the way.
I began to SEE the purpose unfold
 of my journey ahead,
for the sake of my children and their children.
 Meaning-making is not meant to be difficult,
but it does become clearer with the hands-on
 tangible, visual gatherings along the way.
Perhaps then, the story to bless 
the next generation is a bit easier to find.
Anna Bauer-
my grandmother with her siblings.
Katherine Elizabeth and Constance

 Maybe a simple "Keep the Faith" tool 
brings hope and encouragement to another 
mom or dad-
for the sake of the next generation.


2 comments:

  1. Love it! Beautiful and sentimental.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you Karmen- it still blesses me to look at this all these years later!

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