Reading, Writing and Life

I love to read. That’s probably a no-brainer, because I also love to write. But I really do love to read. I always have. I love even the smell of old books. Reading has been a passion of mine all my life. Growing up, I was known as a bookworm and reading geek. I could get through anything (even grade school) as long as I could read. At that point in my life, nothing was more important to me than a good book – even food! In a good book, I could escape my life and have adventures, romance, fun, mystery and thrill. If I didn’t like the book, I could easily stop and move on to one that suited me more.

When I was growing up life wasn’t easy for me, so my books were my friends. I couldn’t even begin to guess how many books I read. Of course, some of them were favorites over the others and I loved to read series’. The series that was probably my all-time favorite is the Little House collection. Another favorite was the Anne of Green Gables collection. And of course there was the Trixie Belden mystery book collection. As far as books that weren’t in a series, again I had some favorites – Little Women, Where the Red Fern Grows, The Outsiders and Ice Castles. These were all great books that touched me deeply. I’ve read all of these individual books and the series’ multiple times. Some of them I still do.

My reading has changed and matured though. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy a good fictional novel. However, I now read more non-fiction. If you were to take a look at my personal library, you’d find plenty of fiction (because they’re enjoyable), but you’d also find business and reference books (because I want to learn), biographies (because people really are interesting), political books (because I’m a passionate patriot), Christian Living books (because I want to grow) and most importantly, several different translations of the Bible (because I want to know God more and be more like Him).

In addition to all the books that I continue to read, I also read a ton of stuff on the internet. There really is a lot of good stuff out there. From online articles, to writing and reading groups, to blogs, the options for reading are in abundance. The thing about the internet though, is that you have to get through a lot of garbage to find quality content, but it is out there.

Now I’ve joined the fray. I have gone public with my writing in the vast expanse of the internet. I know that God has led me to begin this journey, but I don’t know where it will end, or what I’ll encounter on the way. I’m fairly certain it won’t be in a straight line, which is the shortest distance between two points, but rather it will be more like the long and winding road. It is my desire to contribute to the good content that’s out there and I’m fairly certain it is. I say that not with confidence in myself, but with confidence in my God.

There is much about this new journey that I don’t have the answers to, but I do know that God is in it, and He has a purpose and a plan for it. It seems like that is really not all that different than life itself. We often have more questions than answers in our life journey and don’t really know where we are going. Sometimes we think we know, but end up in a detour or a dead end. But God has a plan and a purpose for all of us. We may stumble, fall, get off track or find ourselves going around the same mountain again and again, but God will always be there to pick us up and help us get back on track.

So I will continue going about my life, seeking God and following where He leads. I will continue to read because I cannot imagine my life without reading being a huge part of it. The cool thing about reading now though, is that it’s not looked down upon. In fact, it is encouraged and as the old saying goes, “Leaders are readers.” And I will continue to write, hoping and praying that God will continue to speak through me and in turn, my writing will touch others. And who knows, maybe one day I’ll be the one who is writing a really good book!

“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ~ Jeremiah 29:11

“Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” ~ Proverbs 16:3

(C) 2008 Tracy Keck