In my quest to write something every day of my life, I stumbled on this little gem, 365 Days of Writing Prompts. January 11th’s question was this:
If you could read a book containing all that has happened and will ever happen in your life, would you? If you choose to read it, you must read it cover to cover.
Would you read it?
My first response was: NO WAY!
My second response was: Maybe….
The initial response was from a heart of gratitude that God has allowed me to forget many things that are not worth remembering. Reliving many past memories sounds like a nightmare I’d rather avoid!
But, wouldn’t it be neat to relive all the really special moments? Graduating from college, saying, “I do”, holding your baby for the first time, watching all the milestones of your children?
What about the rest of the book – all the stuff that wasn’t the stuff that is worth forgetting or remembering? What about the day to day mundane stuff? I know I don’t want to read about cooking and cleaning day after day, year after year. Eeks – it’s boring enough the first time around!
Then I began to rethink my initial response about the yucky parts again – the parts I didn’t want to remember. Maybe, just maybe, rereading them would give perspective. Reliving my childhood through adult eyes, I bet that would change me.
Given that thought, I would read it. If it would help me to grow and be more like Christ, count me in. Growth most often involves pain. Think about the growing pains you experienced as a child. While I can’t really go back and read a book of my life, I can embrace the pain that comes into my life. Pain doesn’t have to be bad – it can actually be a good thing if it causes us to grow more like Jesus.
2 Cor. 3:18 “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
James 1:2-4 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
2 Cor. 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
How about you? Would you want to read your life story, cover to cover?
I think I would read it but, some parts would be really hard. I think just like you it would be nice to view things through my adult eyes. But, also I think I would realize something weren’t as great as I thought at the time that they were. I don’t know it would be hard. But, I think it would give me a new perspective on myself and how I treated others good and bad.
I never thought about some things not being as great as I thought they were at the time or about whether or not I treated people well. Eeks – some stuff could surely be tough to revisit. Good point – thanks for sharing.
I’d totally want to read it because I’ve forgotten so much!
You’re a brave soul! Take the good with the bad – nice!