Feburary Blog - Women's Ministry

THE JOY OF LEARNING

by Traci Hollingsworth

I was in first grade, and my teacher, Mrs. Otto, whom I talked about before, gave me the gift of reading. As I look back on that time, I realize that it set up a lifetime of understanding and the ability to learn.

My joy and love of learning was ignited. In grade school, I remember spending as much time as possible in the library. Looking through titles I thought I could read, touching the books, picking them up and putting them back on the shelf. Getting to check them out seemed like a rite of passage, something I could do on my own. The librarian, Mrs. Thorson, was always kind to me and took extra time to talk with me and help me find different books.

In middle school, I volunteered in the library, helping students check out books and making small talk when appropriate. Restoring books to their proper section and shelves using the Dooey-Decimal System and the careful handling of each title; putting it in its place seemed like a special privilege. Then in high school, I chose a literature class when I registered for classes. Though I liked to read, to be around books, to smell the crisp paper of a new book, and the crack it would make as it was opened for the first time by its reader. Even the books, which were less crisp and sometimes had dingy yellow pages, meant they were a well-loved or aged resource. I had never fallen in love with reading until this class. I can remember the light in my head going “on” as it came to life with literature and seeing the rhythms of a novel.

Plots with meaning, characters who moved within the story, conflicts that arose, the mood of the written word…all of it. Words transported me to a different place and time. Do you remember discovering your love of books? Have you ever read a book you couldn’t put down? The kind where you know the characters are waiting to tell you more of their story, the deeper meaning of why they are on a specific pathway headed toward an end, a goal, or a demise. I felt like I “knew” them. I missed them when I closed the final page of the book. Have you? I love good books, stories, learning, and experiencing, and allowing a good author to intrigue my mind and feelings while they paint pictures with words. My knowledge and understanding, as affected by the words held within the binding, are a gift.

My grade school and high school teachers were instrumental in my learning and in my love for books. You and I have The Story at our fingertips. This book is one which other books by the hundreds, written by author upon author, have been scrolled out in response to intrigue, understanding, revelation, learning, reflection, and love for God’s story. We have the best literary book ever breathed and written, the best historical account, and the truest story with life’s deepest love, care, and direction to read, study, enjoy, and find the joy of learning between its front and back cover, that permeates all of life. it’s love for us constructed for our benefit from generation to generation. We have His Word. While we read about a different era, different people, and different stories, don’t they all draw us in, like we “know” the characters, the movement within the walls and pages of this epic, awesome, resplendent story? There are times when I read my Bible, touching the words on the pages, the words in red, and I am brought to tears because our LORD spoke these and desires for us to learn, to know Him personally, and to be a part of community together. I am so very thankful.

I hope you have either already or you can discover this joy of learning too. At the top of this email, the article is about our Women’s Library. If you desire to learn more from what authors have written in their response to learning about Jesus, click on the link above and inquire with the Women’s Librarians those studies that most interest you.

- Traci Hollingsworth