Saturday, March 23, 2013

Cover to Cover


I was struggling.

Men have been going to war for eons.

Women have been saying goodbye to their husbands since war began.

I was not unique in this, but I was struggling with deployment none-the-less.

One night, in the thick of distress {ugly crying} I heard the song Psalm 91 by Sonicflood. The lyrics struck a chord with me and I wrote the words on my heart.

“God you are so many things.”

I have been reading the Bible since I could read, but I couldn’t tell you exactly what those “so many things” were. That night, in the middle of excruciating missing, I made a commitment to read the Bible cover to cover to find out who exactly God is.
 

Tonight I shut the cover behind Revelation 22:21.

It took me nearly three years.

It was an epic, trying, emotional, frustrating and fulfilling journey. Sojourn.

With all 2272 pages of Eugene H. Peterson’s Message accounted for, I discovered that I haven’t even touched the tip of the iceberg on finding, seeing, knowing who God is.

Tomorrow night I will break open Genesis 1, New Living Translation, and start the journey over.

“You are my refuge and strength. You are my hiding place.” That is who God is… just to start with.

 

PS. For those who feel the call to read the Bible through for the first time and you want to start with the Message, feel free to ask me about my thoughts on starting with that translation.

2 comments:

JMitch said...

Maggie,
This is awesome and I am so encouraged by you. 3 years is dedication, sister! Way to stick with it! :)
JMitch

Anonymous said...

Very proud of you and happy for you!
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet, a light to my path.

I believe every word of the Bible brings us closer to Him

Love ya...mom