reading

I was supposed to be working on a sermon. I picked up a book that I hadn't read for a while because I was thinking there might be something useful in it for my sermon. And then I just sat there reading. And then it was dinner time.

Why do I read? You could say that I enjoy the world of ideas. Or that I find it important to view the world from different angles. Or that I'm trying to get in touch with reality from the perspective of people who are a lot smarter than I am. These are all true to some extent.

But the book I was reading that day was Anne Lamott's "Plan B: further thoughts on faith." And the reason that I let myself get immersed in her writing that day was that I found her thoughts on faith comforting. Sometimes I read smart people because they are able to put the world together much better than I can, and that's comforting. Sometimes I read people who are amazing wordsmiths and it's comforting to know that someone out there can do amazing things like that.

And sometimes I read because the world seems really messed up and someone like Anne Lamott understands how messed up the world is and also finds humor in it, and she also finds God in it. She doesn't find God by unlocking the arcane complexities of the universe, utilizing several PhDs and a brilliant mind. She just notices that God is there and points him out to me. Sometimes her sense of God doesn't make a lot of theological sense. But God is real to her and walks with her wherever she is. God shows her what he is doing and also show her things to do. That kind of real-life God is the God that I want to know. The fact that she can tell me about that kind of God is comforting.