Libraries
Why do words have such power?
You know that scene in Beauty and the Beast when he gives her the library? That’s what would’ve broken the spell for me. The gift of words and thoughts is a powerful one. It says, “I love you enough for you to hear other voices. One’s that may be different from mine.”
I would love to have a huge library. But I don’t have the space. Instead I read and build a library in my mind. Pulling various thoughts from memory when I’m able. It’s not always reliable. But it works. I have a small digital library. But a digital book doesn’t embody the words the same way a physical book does or the way a book is embodied in a person who engages with the words with other people.
Sometimes books aren’t meant to sit on a shelf. They are meant to be committed to memory. Not necessarily word for word but idea for idea. And they aren’t a static place in our memory but thoughts and ideas to dance with and play with and live out in this world. Transforming it. This is why I love libraries. They change the world in infinite ways.
“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. Everything came into being through the Word, and without the Word nothing came into being. What came into being through the Word was life, and the life was the light for all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light.”
John 1:1, 3-5 CEB
https://www.bible.com/37/jhn.1.1,3-5.ceb
Until Everyone Hears,
#faith
#Prayer
#UMC
P.S. - If you are looking for a way to celebrate the memory and vision of Martin Luther King Jr., whose words were exceptionally powerful, I’ve posted a link to a virtual event that is happening Sunday evening and Monday to my blog’s Facebook page and the Holy Mischief group. I encourage you to find someway to speak love and reconciliation into the world, this weekend and every day.
P.P.S. - I was on Jason Stanley’s podcast recently - talking about Holy Mischief. You can check it out here: https://jasoncstanley.com/tuesday-talks-getting-into-holy-mischief/