Books...

I cannot go everywhere, do everything, see it all.  I am limited by time, money and energy.  But even as a child, out on the farm, I saw the world.  My eyes were opened to new ways of thinking, my mind was expanded, my vision was changed, because every time I opened the cover of a book, it changed my world.

Today, we have the internet to bring the world to our laptop.  But I still love to hold a book in my hand.  I love the feel of the pages, I enjoy the scent of the paper as I crack the cover, I love to see the words on the pages.  They represent possibility, unlimited options, freedom of thought and expression.

I am a reader.  I am the child who got into trouble for picking up a book instead of the duster or the dish towel, hiding under the covers with a flashlight because I couldn't put the book down, going off into my own little corner of the world to read in peace because the words were irresistible.

"To Kill a Mockingbird" literally changed my understanding of the world.  My mind was opened, and I could never go back to thinking the same way again.  National Geographic changed how I viewed other ways of living.  I understood that not everyone lives as I do, and that not everyone wanted to, and it was okay.  Every book I have opened over the years has impacted my understanding of life, and each and every one has changed me.

The most important book I have ever read is the Bible.  It has given me a path for my life, a road map for the journey, and an understanding of my personal relationship with God that has lasted a lifetime.  Even when the relationship has been strained, there has been a foundation that never failed me.

Today I am grateful for books.  They changed my world, and opened my eyes, and my life is far better because of it.