Collecting the Pennies

Repost from Cornerstone West LA. I once heard a famous older preacher admiring a promise that his wife made when they married: she vowed to never miss a day of reading her Bible. The pastor then shared a story about a particularly harrowing hospital visit that was the one exception to this rule. He concluded his tale with the quip, “I gave her the day off.” And I absorbed this standard into my idea of The Good Wife.

This morning I sat in my bed with a 13-month-old playfully swatting at my Bible. Eagerly exploring cause and effect, the baby kept closing the book, looking up at me, and giggling. I responded with crazy eyes and a veiled threat in that singsong voice we reserve for pets and children: “If you want to have a good mommy today, you will let me read my Bible.”

And then I paused. And I thought about that preacher. Is this really the point of reading my Bible? To transform me into my best self each morning? Read more.