Books, Books and More Books

I know in this digital age we are all supposed to embrace technology and all its wonderment, including the amazing ability of devises that instantly deliver enough books to keep us reading and enough songs to keep us singing until our final breath. I know it's amazing and I have a device for such purposes.  It astounds me that I can take not one or two books on vacation, but hundreds and without 5 suitcases to hold them all.  What an absolute thrill!!  One can only truly appreciate this  if one has had to take a two week road trip with their parents and grandparents and had to choose which books and cassette tapes they can and cannot live without over the duration of said road trip, but I digress.... 
Having established the beauty and blessing of unlimited glowing, electronic information, my confession is this.....I don't care how convenient it is because I LOVE BOOKS! And don't shake your head in agreement and say "Me too" because you don't understand; I buy a book (at least one) every time I am in a bookstore and when I travel I would rather bring home a book than a souvenir or trinket.  I can't walk by a bookstore without going in and touching as many books as possible.  I turn into a crazy person...I have to touch them, feel them in my hands, flip through their pages, smell them, buy them....Books about Scotland, books about art, books about history, museums, romance, tragedy, mystery, Jesus, heaven, hell, self-help, how to be a better Christian, how to be a better person, nutrition, exercise, classic literature, habits that will change your life, Shakespeare, you name it!  
So, I think I've established that I love books and have reached for them throughout my life for entertainment, enlightenment, guidance and humor.  I began reading at a young age and it has been a love affair ever since, but I have learned to be careful when I reach for a book that promises it contains untold truths that will trigger all my bad habits and issues to fall away and reveal the swan that lives within.  Don't get me wrong, I love self-help and Christian based books about discovering who I am and who I want to be and who everyone else thinks I should be, but I have also discovered that many of these books, which contain helpful ideas and thoughts, often make me feel inadequate and lacking, not only as a believer, but as a human being.  I am not saying they can't be helpful because I have read many that are full of great advice, but I have also found that if I begin feeling less than I am because I am not doing or saying "what I am supposed to", I put them away-life is too short!  The only book any of us should reach for to learn our worth and potential is God's word to us. It's got everything: adventure, absurdity, romance, tragedy, sarcasm (my favorite), darkness, light, hope...And it's best attribute....The truth,  Jesus!  
We are all searching....we want to turn a page and read something so enlightening it changes us and fixes us, but the cold hard truth is that as long as we draw breath, we will remain imperfect.  Attaining perfection on this earth just isn't possible, so the next time you reach for a book (even a good book, written with good intentions) remember that there aren't 10 steps to any type of perfection and all you really need is consistency in opening God's word to you.  Will it magically take away your problems? No, but it will provide light to your path (Psalm 119:105) and strength on your journey (2 Timothy 3:16) and purpose in your life (Hebrews 4:12).  This life is a marathon  to becoming who God wants us to be, not a sprint to the "perfect" person the world wants us to be.
Start today and just pick up the Bible and say a short prayer to the one who made you and loves you....ask that the Holy Spirit fill you and that God would speak to your heart.  Make it a part of every day and it will start singing to you, I promise. Thank you to Bill Gehm at Grace Church in Amarillo.  He is the pastor that taught me to look for Jesus in every word of the Bible and let it sing to me! Tears are streaming down my face as I write this because I know it is true...He speaks to me and He will speak to you if you turn off the world for just a little while and let Him into your heart.  Following Him and reading the Bible hasn't made my life easier, but every page of my life's story  has been fuller and more beautiful than I could have imagined because of its Author.