last year i felt called to read the bible all the way through. i have read it before. the first time cover to cover in it’s entirety. and while it was of course beautiful and powerful, this time i wanted to absorb and understand more of what i was reading. i found the bible in a year podcast with father mike schmitz which takes listeners through the bible in chronological order (with explanations!) in just about 30 minutes a day.
i texted my friend debbie, asking her to join me on the journey.
near immediately, she replied, “yes.”
we started.
and we kept going.
every day.
for a year.
and then, a few weeks ago, our experience came to an end.
it has taken me weeks to process my thoughts.
upon completion i felt full. sad. proud.
but mostly thankful.
thankful for each day i was able to let the word wash over me.
thankful for the ability to carve time (almost) every single day to listen.
for 365 days i listened to the bible.
i hit play on some of the most beautiful days of my life. i also listened on some of the hardest. i listened in hospital rooms, in the car, and in the shower. i listened before funerals and before weddings. i listened at the beach, on mountains, and on the shores of some of my favorite lakes. i listened in the parking lot of crossfit before dawn. i listened before bed and while cooking dinner. i listened while anxious and elated and exhausted. i listened on the days my heart was filled with hope and on the days the world and the news was too much to bear. i listened when the world mocked christianity and on the days my fellow believers raised their voices in prayers too loud to ignore.
and through it all… i listened with my friend.
a beautiful human who has unexpectedly come into my life and made me better in countless ways. a woman who encourages my creativity, says yes to church and to glow golf. a woman who supports me and my family with strength, consistency, and loads of humor.
debbie – i will never stop thanking the good lord for placing you, bobby, and lucian in my life.
now, with this bible in a year journey fully completed, i am able to look back on where i started and see how far i have come. this year i began to learned how it all connects, how the church has come to be, and what that means for me today. i finally understand reading the bible through once, twice, and likely even hundreds of times could never provide all the answers. there is a mystery of faith. an acceptance of the unexplainable. beauty in the sheer magnitude of what it means to be a believer.
today the bible feels like mine. the word belongs to me. and it belongs to you. and to our ancestors before us and to those who will come next. i pray with all my heart for everyone to find peace and joy in the bible and in our king jesus christ.
peace and love.
