I've been trying to become a little less so.
Readers, meet my new friends Coffee and Weights. New friends, meet my readers.
Some of you may have seen me lamenting on social media about my new friends. They are tiresome and bitter, but I still long to be close to them.
Okay, now, all joking aside.
I am trying (really hard!) to become a person of good habits. Every morning I take my vitamins, go downstairs and plop down on my recliner to read my day's selection from the Chronological Bible, then go to make coffee and exercise. Okay, I fudged. The first two I do every day. The coffee and exercise I do more than half of the days.
Those I struggle with. First, as I mentioned earlier, the coffee is bitter to my taste buds. It is a far cry from my artificially sweetened, carbonated drinks that I have been drinking for years. The weights are just hard work, and I've noticed that they seem heavier now than they did a few weeks ago.
So—why on earth would I keep drinking coffee and keep lifting the weights?
I've learned a thing or three about coffee. Yes, it's a little bitter going down, but a) it really helps me get focused for the day b) it's good for me; and c) I need it for where I'm going. Ethiopia is the capital of coffee. Culturally, Ethiopians use coffee ceremonies to bless their visitors, so I really need to embrace coffee to embrace Ethiopia.
The weights? Well, that's a little more obvious, isn't it? I'm a weakling. I'm intending to take taekwondo this fall, and I need much more arm strength in order to make it through the class.
This morning I went through my ritual: vitamins, Bible, coffee, weights, and I looked at the coffee and weights again.
And I realized something.
I have struggled to develop a habit of reading my Bible, preferring much more to be spoon-fed on Sundays or in often meaningful but somewhat watered-down devotions that would throw a Bible verse in at the end for good measure. I found that diving into full-fledged Bible reading sometimes felt bitter. I didn't always like what I read. There are many times I didn't (and still don't) fully understand the purpose behind God's actions, and those lists of family lineage? What were those there for, anyway?
I would like to tell you that I started reading my Bible daily because I felt inspired to do so, but the biggest reasons I started were because b) it's good for me and c) I need it for where I'm going. I found out, after starting, that a) it certainly helps me get my focus for the day, and I realized that to fully embrace God, I need to fully embrace His Word. However, like the weights, I've also noticed that this Bible reading is getting heavier. I have more questions and feel more convicted. I question my actions and my attitudes and my theology. I'm a spiritual weakling and need to build up the muscle, and through personal study, I am getting stronger in my faith and closer to God every day.
Is your Bible sitting on your shelf like mine was, gathering dust or maybe just being pulled off to go to church on Sunday? Do you use the excuse that you don't understand everything it says, that you don't have the time? If you are a habitual Word student, what suggestions do you have for others to help them get started?
If you can do anything habitually—eating, drinking, sleeping, going to work—you can start a habit of reading the Bible. Take it from me, a stubborn and unstructured person. Today is your day to get started!
