I use to enjoy reading very much when I was a little girl. That made me a really easy child to look after:) I wasn't sure if my daddy knew consciously the effect his actions had on me...but he would regularly come home from work with a new book in his hand and I looked forward to hearing his footsteps and press my face through the grille gates. Whenever his hand held a new book, my face would lit up. Sometimes, it was Richard Scarry's beautifully illustrated books, sometimes it was Enid Blyton's wonderful adventures, sometimes it was a series of Aesop fables, and sometimes it was ladybird books of the miracles of Jesus. Those books ushered me into a world that I didn't know and it was captivating to the small mind of a child that wasn't expose to the world beyond herself. I can only thank my dad for starting me on the path of reading.
As the years went by, the realities of life and time saw reading only as a hobby to be pursued when I was 'free'. And as more years went on, reading was merely functional. The effects of a busy life [be it at work, at home or even in church] was numbing to the mind. *gasp* I lost my joy in reading.
But I am so glad and perhaps relieved that my heart and mind is rekindled towards reading & 'words of art'. Reading [books as well as the Bible] is a precious exercise not just for the sole appreciation of the formation of words and phrases, but for the exercise of the mind in 'hearing' the voice of God, in understanding His will, in reflecting upon our lives and in eventually living a changed and transformed life for His glory. Only when we begin our journey in reading, can we engage the workings of words in our lives. A recent book that I bought has put this succinctly,
"Since words are the way we communicate experiences, truth, and situations, who should know how to use them more creatively than people who are aware of their Creator? The world cries out for imaginative people who can spell out truth in words that communicate meaningfully to people in their human situation...yet tragically, we can live our whole lives inhibited and poverty stricken in human expression and creativity. We forget to notice, to see what is happening around us. We don't ask questions; we fail to listen. We are afraid of what is different, and are uncertain about what is true and good. Truth and excellence have a way of springing up all over the world, and our role as parents is to teach our children how to find and enjoy the good and to reject what is mediocre and unworthy. "
Gladys Hunt [Honey for a child's heart]
Romans 12 deals with a transformation that is led by a renewing of your mind. Our minds can only be renewing if it is engaged [not mystically] plainly by the word of God. Busying ourselves serving and helping others, even in the name of the Lord, can numb our hearts and mind towards Christ. Perhaps that was the reminder Christ gave to us in busy Martha and through the unfazed Mary who chose to sit at His feet.
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