I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways. I will delight in your decrees and not forget your word. Psalm 119:15 – 16
I still remember that crisp, Fall Sunday morning when I received my third grade Bible. My father presented it to me in our worship service, along with the other third graders that I knew and loved. “Wow!” I thought, “It even has my name on it!”
As with my older siblings, when they received their third grade Bibles, I knew it was time to follow the rule in our house – to read a chapter a night before going to bed. I felt bigger, better, somehow more important than the day before! I was now old enough to read the Bible on my own, just like the others in my family!
I embarked on this scripture reading journey with excitement…until it was actually time to sit down and read it. At that point, I thought it was the most excruciatingly painful experience of my life! It took SO long to read one chapter…. Did I fall asleep in the middle of it? What did it all mean? How was I supposed to understand it?
So I stopped.
Then, one evening when I was in fifth grade, I came into my parents’ room and sat on the edge of the bed. My mom was working away and she could tell something was wrong, so she sat down beside me and offered an ear. I expressed to her that for quite a while I just hadn’t felt right. Something inside was missing or empty and I didn’t know what to do about. The first thing that came out of her mouth shocked me. She said, “Are you reading your Bible?”
At that point I realized that parents really do know everything! It was in that moment that I felt the nudge from my Heavenly Father to begin the journey again with Him.
And what a journey! I began reading the Bible again, looking at one chapter a night from the Gospels and then continuing on through the New Testament. Much to my amazement, the words took on life! I couldn’t get enough! I could have read all day long and it wouldn’t have been long enough, because the meaning and truth started taking root in my heart. The spark that was ignited by God early, burned like a blazing fire with every passing day. Just as seeds must be nurtured, watered and tended, so must our spirit be cared for daily. If you take the time, each day, to read the Bible and pray; both talking and listening to God, you will find that it is something you will never regret.
Stephanie Greenwald, Director of Worship
