One of my top ten favorite things about this unexpected year of homeschooling is our reading the Bible together every school day. At 8am, four young women and I meet in the living room with our Bibles. We open to the book we are reading at the time, and each student takes a turn, reading about half a chapter. We read 2 chapters a day. Then I ask them, "Would you like to share anything that stood out to you?" Often they each have one or two verses they want to point out. Sometimes we laugh at Jesus's "sassy" tone. Other times we are encouraged by His promise to be with us, even when everyone else abandons us. The Scripture through the lenses of a teenage girl is--well, very specific. I am so glad it speaks right to their heart.
Perhaps one reason this is such a fulfilling experience to me is that these young women are seeing Christianity directly. They are no longer just hearing about it from me (and their other faith formators). The Scripture is more powerful than my telling of it. The are seeing Christ in the Gospels, hearing Paul in his letters. God is more lovely when He speaks for Himself.
It is also true that if one of these teenagers grows up and rejects the faith (God forbid), she will be rejecting the God of the Scriptures, not the God of Kathryn, the God of Mom. Or better put, they are much less likely to reject the faith (thank you, Lord), because now, they are coming into a relationship with Christ Himself in His Word, and that is much harder to reject than someone's second hand account of the faith.
May God continue to draw us in. His Word is so beautiful. It is a love song. Thank you, Lord.
