Over the past week I have come to realize a really shocking fact, one that might evoke some suspicion or confusion in some of my followers. I am not reading my bible.
Shocking I know. For a good Christian woman to not be reading her bible might sound scandalous to some, but it is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I have been conditioned to read my bible. Think about it. If you have been raised in the church you know that bible reading is essential. All the cool kids have a giant study bible or artsy folks have journaling bibles. I can tell you that I carry mine everywhere that I go as if Jesus was literally hanging out on the pages and not right in front of me. My bible comes out in class and I nod appropriately when certain scriptures are quoted and I even vigorously underline and highlight the heck out of it. But I don’t think that I am actually taking any of it in. I have found that over the past few weeks when I don’t read my bible I feel instant shame and guilt. As if my reading the bible was the one and only way that I could encounter Jesus.
On a walk with a wise woman yesterday something sunk in. Our God is a very BIG God. He is not confined to a book. He is everywhere. If I were to read my bible every morning or throughout the corse of my day and then not encounter him in every part of my day, what would be the point?
Georgia is one of the most beautiful places in America (in my opinion) and the house that I live in is positioned perfectly to encounter the beauty of the Lord. This morning as I was waking up I talked to God and my bible was across the room. I watched the pink and blue sky dance across the skylight in my room as I rustled the covers away and climbed out of bed and I saw Jesus. Then I walked down stairs and watched the sun rise over lake Lainer and watched as the fog hovered over the water. It was heaven sent. A sweet moment with my love before my day with people would begin. I felt his anticipation for what was to come. His love for me. It was something that the bible was not going to do for me today.
I wont feel guilt and shame for not marking pages out of routine. I choose to break my routine and actually speak to Jesus. To actually interact with him. I also choose to love his written word. To feel those sweet pages just as I did when I fell in love for the first time. I choose him in whatever form that might be for today or tomorrow. He is a surprising God.
