Life Books

This morning, I have books on the brain.

Maybe it’s because I have a 3:00pm conference call today with a publisher about my next two projects. I am excited about the potential this call brings, as I am excited about the message my projects could bring to the lives of those who read them!

But I am also thinking about another book. This book, in a sense, has already been published. It’s ending is already written, even though I am not able to cheat and flip over to the last page and read it. Some of the chapter titles in it include: Bleached Blond Hair with Black Eyebrows…Caught Kissing the Deacon’s Son in the Back of the Church…and my personal favorite, More Than Enough Parking Tickets to Re-carpet College Dorm Third Floor. To name a few.

But there are some others that just could not be left out. They are important to the story, though I’m afraid they don’t carry quite the same light-hearted feel as their predecessors.

~Mess-Ups, Regrets, and Years Full of Tears
~Trying to be Perfect While Failing Miserably
~Believing the Lie and Chasing after Nothing

These chapters could be joined by others with many of the same themes. But the point is still the same. And I think you get it.

Fortunately, the book doesn’t end with these more difficult chapters. Though I haven’t yet read the ending, the chapters that follow some of the tougher ones I just mentioned take things in quite a different direction…

~Rescue Effort
~Undeserved Acceptance
~Swept away by love
~Never the Same

The book I write about, of course, is my very own life book. It’s a book containing pages of my journey. Some of those pages bring joy, while others bring pain. But they are all pages of my story -- my life book -- which as of 12:02am on Monday, February 2, is still being written.

If you are reading this blog, your life book, too, is still being written. Your book may contain many chapters, or maybe a few less, but regardless of the word count, you have accumulated a lot of pages. Your chapter titles may differ from mine, or maybe they don’t. But my guess is that even if they aren’t a perfect match, they contain your own set of beautiful moments, painful moments, and rescue effort moments in your life. Just as do mine.

King David’s life book is chronicled largely in I and II Samuel. As I continue in my study of these amazing books, I am reminded of what a good read it is! ☺ In fact, I would dare say I have yet to read a better novel! I love what he writes in one of his life book chapters, which if I do so humbly suggest would have to be called something like, “New Beginnings”…

“God made my life complete
when I placed all the pieces before him.
When I cleaned up my act,
he gave me a fresh start.
Indeed, I've kept alert to God's ways;
I haven't taken God for granted.
Every day I review the ways he works,
I try not to miss a trick.
I feel put back together,
and I'm watching my step.” (II Sam. 22:22-25 Msg)

And then, in his concluding thoughts on this subject, he summarizes his experience in 18 simple, but beautiful words…

“God rewrote the text of my life
when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.”

Having personally gone through the book writing process, I am fully aware of how difficult a re-write of a project really is. It is often grueling, rarely welcomed and usually tedious. But that is where the book writing process I am familiar with and the life book writing process (thankfully) differ.

It’s different because the Author is different.

What this Scripture says to me is not that I can have a do-over or erase moments from my life book and have it re-written for me. David didn't have that luxury, and neither do I. No, those things are said, done, and documented in many of my chapters. But rather, it suggests to me that what He sees in my story is probably very different from what I see. What He knows about its value in my life is on a much deeper level than my personal analysis can bring. While I may know my own chapter titles, He knows the way the story ends. He’s already read the last page of the book.

This morning, as I think about my life book, I am reflecting on many things. But one thing is for sure. I may not be able to re-write the chapter on bleaching my dark hair blond, but I can ensure that my story doesn’t end like a Greek tragedy. Thankfully, I have everything to do with that.

It’s in reflecting on II Samuel 22…embracing the blank pages…and asking God to open up my eyes to see what He does when He reads my text.

I wonder what this day’s pages will say in my life book? I think I’ll go to sleep, wake up in 6 hours, and find out.