Read on
When I was young, I didn’t enjoy reading. I really can’t pinpoint the reason — I just know I dreaded it when I had to do it. Fast forward to now – I so appreciate the ability to read. I never realized what I missed out on when I didn’t take the time to dive into a good book! It’s like you’re on a mini vacation. Like, for real. You find yourself forgetting about those things that have been weighing you down.
Recently, I’ve taken on the challenge of reading some books about history — not to mention some love novels. I’m learning that a good author will make you feel as though you’re a true witness to what’s taking place. When there’s pain, you feel the pain. Sadness, you feel it. Forgiveness, you want to give it. Hope, you see it. What a gift they have to make it so intriguing — you don’t want to put the book down.
Last summer I read my first book (in years) that had 500 or more pages. When my friend handed it to me, I thought – there is no way I’m going to be able to read this whole thing. I started out slow, flipping through a few pages at a time. Although the 400 some pages I had left to read was intimidating at first, I somehow got into a routine of picking it up to see what happened next. The BEST moment was when I was about 20 pages from the end of the book. I remember placing my bookmark in that spot thinking — I don’t want this to end! So I made myself read only a couple of pages at a time. Sound strange? If so, then you haven’t found the right book! I plan on reading it again soon. Why? Because I know I tend to skim over sentences sometimes and miss important details.
This, too, has been my experience with reading God’s Word. It took me a long time before I would do more than just read a few verses a day because I found the whole thing to be so intimidating. The thing is, we miss out on how everything ties together from back to front when we only focus on a chapter — here or there. Is it difficult to understand sometimes? Yes. However, once you hear the author speak to you and realize how much you can relate and learn from it — you won’t want to put it down. A book that you will want to read more than once.
Live-Write 