As a child reading was not something that I enjoyed or that I wanted to spend my time pursuing.  The truth is I didn’t and still often don’t fully understand some of the classic literature that “everyone” must read.   

For some of us reading comes easy for others it is a great challenge.  I dreaded reading as a child and as an adult I still much prefer to surround myself with books that are written in a way that I understand.  I do enjoy challenging my mind with new vocabulary, but when every sentence is a challenge, I lose interest.   

When I was in elementary school my mom was worried about my reading ability.  She asked our neighbor, Mrs. Kunkle, if she would evaluate my ability.  Mrs. Kunkle was a very well-regarded elementary school teacher and grew to be a very close friend.  She would listen to me read all while encouraging me on my performance.  She reported back to my mom that my reading was just fine and at my age level.

Continually being placed in the lowest reading group, I performed at that level in school and never enjoyed all that reading had to offer.  What I needed was for someone to encourage my reading.  My confidence increased and I learned to choose books that were of interest to me.

I went from being a child who did not care for reading and was always in the bottom reading level, to an adult who successfully completed graduate school.  During high school, it was very difficult for me to read and understand some of the literature.  I would be in English class totally clueless about the content and meaning behind the words that were so unfamiliar to me.

It’s all right that I don’t understand all the content because I can find ways to help comprehend literature.  I seek study guides to shine a light on the meaning.

As an educator and a mother, I directly saw the benefits of increased reading to enhance academic performance.  I am also grateful to Mrs. Kunkle for showing me how important it is for each individual to find the right books to read. 

I am very liberal about allowing my children to choose their books.  In fact, I am not sure that I would like the books they are reading if I read them myself.  I do, however, enjoy talking to them regarding what they read and their opinion on the content.  So long as their values are in check, they are free to choose the books they read. 

I read from the Bible daily, but have I ever read the Bible?  The answer is no.   Although I have lived by faith my entire life, I have not read the Bible.  Why?  Because when I read the Bible my mind often gets lost in the language.  Recently I have had numerous signs pushing me to read the Bible cover to cover.  I went back to my school days and remembered that all I needed was a bit of encouragement and a study guide. 

What I have found is that those passages that seemed so ambiguous to me were much easier to interpret with a little help from a study Bible.  I now see how digging into the study Bible long ago would have been quite helpful to my journey!  Each day I see how following God’s principles is so important.  The valuable direction and reassurance provided in God’s word.  As I read I see the events of today playing out in the pages of the Bible.  I am very grateful for this journey. 

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