Monday, January 19, 2015

Highlights

The Christmas I received my first Bible is very special. It was a Blue leather Bible, with my name engraved in goldShelli Ann Fomby.  My father presented it to me. I adored it. I still have it.



A good friend highlighted in her Bible, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. I must have been seven or eight. I thought it looked pretty, so I began highlighting. Not special verses ... just verses. Any verse, just to add color. And I used pink, blue, orange, yellow highlighters. I wanted it to be pretty.

I'm not the quickest learner. After a while, I noticed that the highlighter had bled through my Bible's thin, satiny pages. The colors were too bright, too dark. The Scripture it had bled over to on the following page wasn't marked neatly. I had ruined my Bible.



I remember sitting in church by my friend.

"Turn to chapter so and so, verse so and so," the pastor would say.

I'd barely crack open my Bible, so afraid that someone would see how stu ... I won't use the "S" word. But I had been it. Covered with shame and embarrassment, I didn't want anyone to see.

*****

My church gave me a Bible when I accepted Christ. My mother made the sweet cover.



I came to love this Bible. It's funny looking at it now, because it has pictures of teenagers in it. They're all hippies. Bell bottoms. That'll date me. But this Bible was great because at the back, it contained a collection of directions. Spiritual directions.

"When you're feeling lonely, left out: Luke 6."

"When you've said something you shouldn't: James 3."

"When you're struggling to do right, and can't quite make it: Romans 7-8."

"When you want to find out what true love is: 1 Corinthians 13."

And I loved that new Bible because it covered my mistakes. No one could see my mistakes.

The new covered the old.

*****

Y'all, I made some costly mistakes as a teendefinitely not the highlight of my lifethat bled over into many other areas of my life. I felt so ugly. I thought I had ruined my life.

I don't go into detail, I'm a concealer, because I might possibly shatter if I did. But I have no doubt God will have me sharing it one day ... because I know Him and well, because He knows me. And well, because He knows we're at our best when we've been completely shattered, completely broken.

As I grew closer to God, I realized that I hadn't ruined my life. I also realized that I hadn't ruined my Bible. God's Word is still there. Jesus' words in red are still there. It's just different.

Areas of my life had simply been highlighted, turned more colorful, changed ... for the sole purpose of ministry. It's a testimony.


No, sin is not good. But God is. And He delivers Romans 8:28, just as He promises.

*****

The Bible I use today, why, it's nearly thirty years old.




When someone sits near me, I shamefully turn the Bible over to hide the front cover. My name wasn't engraved properly. And I don't want people to think I spell my name with a "y" instead of an "i." They'll think they've been spelling my name wrong, all along.

But that Bible is so torn up, y'all. Pages are worn. Maps falling out. And I wouldn't have it any other way. It's a testimony of the tearing of my life, the falling apart, the rebuilding, the begging, the clinging, the seeking, the tears, the laughter. All my Bibles boast it. It's not vanity, it's sentimentality.


How I ruined my life and my Bible led me to the highlight of my lifethis amazing journey with God. And He bleeds over into every area of life, making me new.


And I have to askhow on earth could I have it any other way?


10 comments:

  1. Shelli, this is my all-time favorite post you've written. And you even had the picture from childhood. What a miracle. :) At least it would be for me--to find just the pic I needed from my little girl years.

    Whew....my friend, this is deep and rich and honest. And so tenderly written.

    Thank you.

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    1. Oh, Julie ... thank you, my sweet friend. This is one of those that causes your tummy to twist before you hit "publish" ... but you know you have to do it.

      You are dear to me.

      xoxoxo

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  2. Shelli, thank you for sharing from your Spirit-filled heart. Your words always bless me. And thank you for coming with me to my doctor's appointment today (I was reading your book in the waiting room). I'm a wimp when it comes to doctors and tests. They drive me to cling to my Father's hand.

    Blessings & hugs ~ Wendy ❀

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    1. Oh, Wendy ... that I was with you today ... that makes my heart so happy. Thank you for sharing that. I'm a big wimp when it comes to doctors and tests, too!! Ugh.

      Blessed by you!

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  3. "A Bible that's falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn't." Spurgeon's quote applies to you. And not to worry, God gets your name right!

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    1. Oh, Amen, Shirlee. you gave me chill bumps down my arms!!

      Thank you, precious lady. I needed to hear that.

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  4. Oh, Shelli...you have had me in tears today. I don't know why. perhaps that is for the best. Had the Devil's own weekend. You offer healing.

    But please, please, PLEASE...keep writing.

    You make the kind of difference that saves both souls, and lives.

    http://blessed-are-the-pure-of-heart.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-right-focus-tuesdaysten.html

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    1. I heard about your rough weekend, and I was praying for you.

      Thank you. Thank you.

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  5. Shelli, what a beautiful post. I love how the Bibles chronicle your understanding of how you saw you and how God sees you. :) Been there too. My teens and early twenties? Not years I'm proud of. But, God.....His word never changes. It just changes a sinner into a saint and reveals truth that covers shame.

    LOVED this post!

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    1. Jeanne. Thank you. I feel like you just placed your hand in mine. Love you, sweet friend.

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Blessed by you, Shelli