The Bible. Almost everyone in the entire world knows exactly what book it is. It has been a #1 Bestseller for as long as I can remember. Some people’s Bibles are simple leather, others have geometric designs, and others still have beautiful quotes and flower designs on the covers. Some are big, some are small, and some are even pocket-sized. Yet the insides are all still the same (or at least almost). The same words typed on each page.
My Bible was a wonderful gift from a kind friend. It’s brown and turquoise with small flower designs on the front cover and my name inscribed on the back along with the words “WR Gap Year”.
But I’ve personally never really enjoyed reading my Bible. I’ve read it because I feel obligated as a Christian to read it. Any time anyone asks me what my favorite verse is, I say Jeremiah 29:11 because it’s easy to remember and most people know it.
I’ve also never written in my Bible. At least not before the Race. Partly because I think writing in books is sac-relig. Partly because I thought that writing in the Bible was sac-relig.
But my whole viewpoint has changed. All it took was one rainy day of nothing to do and my teammate encouraging me to continue reading from my daily Romans reading (which I would normally just read the one chapter of the day and then put my Bible away). But today was different. I had a want, a need to keep reading. So I did. I read Romans 8-16. At 13 I stopped. Because I saw a passage that needed more color than the plain creme and black of the page. It needed a sunrise. The bright oranges and soft patches of yellow. Libby had brought down Abbie’s watercolors to use, so I grabbed a brush and started painting. I’ve never even written in my Bible before these past 6 months. And now I find myself painting in it and wanting to read it cover to cover, learning as much as I can about my God and about my faith.
I had been praying for a want to read His Word for months. And He answered me through my teammate. She encouraged me to start writing in my Bible. And then encouraged me to keep reading.
So here is my encouragement to you: write in your Bible. Paint in it. Draw, sketch, give it color, give it life. And read your Bible. And keep reading.
