Up in Freeport yesterday, at this little bookstore called Sherman's, I found a children's book that I thought had gone out of print. The Story of Ferdinand, about a bull who just wants to sit and sniff the flowers. I loved this book as a child and was so excited when I spotted it there that I snatched up a copy for Mr. Bear, along with another book called The Little Island, by Margaret Wise Brown and Leonard Weisgard. Both of these brought back plenty of childhood memories. I don't know how many times Mom read those books to me, at least until I started reading. (I learned to read at an early age. My first word was "Premium" off a saltine cracker box. I don't know why I remember that, but I do. What a word to start reading with!)
What I love about Ferdinand is that he does not do what people expect---he doesn't fight. He is eventually allowed to just be himself, and sit and sniff the flowers. I hope with these to get Abel, when he's old enough, to have a life long love of reading, I hope he takes as much joy in these books as I did. I find reading a comfort, especially reading the Bible, even the parts that I don't understand or particularly like. It's not up to me to like those parts, but to find what God is trying to say to me through them. But I did like this prayer that Paul prayed for the Thessalonians: "May our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father, who loved us and in His special favor gave us everlasting comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and give you strength in every good thing you do and say." (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17)
Reflecting on that a bit, it seems that every good thing we do and say is not of our own volition. It is of God and His Holy Spirit, the one who comforts us, the one who is the balm for our souls. Isn't it wonderful, even when we've sinned, that we can turn to Him and He will heal us and comfort us and forgive us, that He is still working on us? The late Ken Fernald used to sing at our church every year, and he always did a song called "He's Still Working On Me". I always liked the line about hanging a sign over the heart that said "Don't judge yet, not finished yet." We may have to face the consequences of our sin, but He will help us face them. Praise God!