Column Post by Lakin Easterling
“Um, don’t hate me, but I did a bad thing.”
This is a sentence I frequently speak to my husband, and it always evokes a grin and a chuckle at my use of the word “bad”.
See, I’m a bookworm. Always have been, and for the foreseeable future, always will be. I used to fall asleep with the dictionary as a child. My first book light was a giant pink monster on a huge black rope, and I’m pretty sure it was visible from outer space. But it was given to me when I was still in the single digits of my life, and I stayed up hours past my bedtime for so many nights that it just came natural to me to be awake at one in the morning.
My husband understands this. He understood it when we had no money as newlyweds, he understood it when we had a baby, and he understands it today. Which is also why, when I go into a bookstore and my eyes get as big as Princess Jasmine’s or Belle’s or Rapunzel’s, he lets me wander and flip pages and sniff pages, and become enraptured like it is in my nature to do.
He notices when I can’t put one down, or two or three or four. In his mind, it doesn’t matter what the bank says, or how much space is on my bookshelf, or on the floor beside it; he will grab the book, take it to the register, and we will leave with it in a crinkly plastic bag with matching smiles on our faces. Mine because my husband delights in me, and his because he loves to see me delighting in his love.
On days like that, I understand what Solomon meant when he wrote, “He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.” {Song of Solomon 2:4, ESV}
Luke is not ashamed of me, in any way. The times when I say buying a book is a “bad thing”, he redirects my purpose into something I can do that brings him joy. It’s about the things I love, and however inconvenient they may turn out to be, however much I think I will bother him, it’s just not true. He loves me because I am exactly that: me.
I can’t help but think this attribute mirrors exactly how God views us, even when we think the things we love will somehow not be satisfactory to Him. He made us with a burden on each of our hearts, a passion unique to our personality; I believe those are meant to bring Him glory.
“…I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” {John 10:10, ESV}
Can you think of anything more enjoyable to a Creator and Bridegroom, than to have His Creation and Bride live the way she was meant to live, to the very fullest extent?
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P.S. We’d love to know your thoughts, so please be sure to comment below. Each of our commenters will be entered in a drawing for this month’s FREE book giveaway, Mothers & Daughters: Mending a Strained Relationship by author Teena Stewart.
Lakin Easterling is a wife, mother, writer, and avid reader. She spends her days chasing her toddler, Belle, and conversing with the elderly who are afflicted by Alzheimer’s disease or Dementia. She loves surprise coffee dates with her husband Luke, texting novels to her best friend, Laura Hyers, and being a college student. She dreams about being brave enough to get a tattoo, and believes in the healing power of a good cup of coffee. Her favorite nail polish is Sail Away by Milani. She blogs at http://threadingsymphonies.wordpress.com.
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