Sharpened

We bought school supplies yesterday.

Each of my children walked through the store deciding what they needed in order to have a productive year. I walked around imagining the supply drawers in our kitchen – now full of broken crayons and markers without caps and dried out glue sticks from last year’s school escapades. I filled my cart with new items – including poster board – and couldn’t wait to get home and clean out.

At the register, J.J. asked why I had gathered all “this stuff.”

“Mom,” he said, “Most of this we won’t need until we are assigned a project or book report. That won’t happen for a while yet.”

I looked at him and smiled because I remembered the times when he and I were out late at the store the night before a project was due – frantically trying to find the right color construction paper because he had “forgotten” to mention the supplies he would need and I did not have them on hand.

“I guess I want to be prepared,” I answered him. “It’s nice to be ready ahead of time.”

As I continued to think about his comments, I realized that I read my Bible for some of the same kinds of reasons. Yes, I love the poetry and storytelling and drama it provides (it really is a work of literature) but reading it everyday also somehow prepares me for things – for life.

It’s not that I face every situation able to quote the scripture that is relevant, but by reading my Bible often I begin to innately know the story of God – the way of God – and His heart. In essence, it supplies me with what I need even before I need it.

It’s so much better than a frantic search the night before.