New Year, New Leaves of Grace!

One of my Christmas presents made me grin broadly. It’s a Bible. Not my usual Bible in another translation. It is called “The One Year Chronological Bible (NLT),” given to me by JC.

The Bible as we know it has many books that happen simultaneously or at different times. But the books are not arranged according to chronology. JC’s gift is arranged in the order of events as they happened—from the creation of the world to all the succeeding years.

What’s even nicer about my new Bible is that it is divided into 365 days! It takes only from 20 to 30 minutes to read these one-day passages. If I read these passages every single day, at year’s end I shall have read the whole Bible from cover to cover!

Together with this Bible is my son’s beautifully-written, four-page letter. JC’s wonderful writing style is so different from mine. Let me quote from it and summarize it my own way so I could share it with you.


Dear Mom,

Sometime in the (hopefully) distant future . . .

You black out and take your last breath. When you open your eyes you are in heaven. There, a huge, thundering voice calls your name, “Grace. Well done, My good and faithful servant, enter thou into My glory. . .”

“Jesus!” you shout with joy and awe.

“Yes, Grace, you are dead. Well, then again, not anymore. You are alive. I am the resurrection and the life if you recall,” pulling the words from your head.

He gestures to a woman who has been longingly looking from afar.

On earth you would have held back your tears. You manage a soft, "Mama?”

Grandma, whom you’ve been missing a lot since her death, and you hug very tightly. Grandma later introduces you to her friends who are also writers like you are. Some of them are Nahum, Micah, and Habakkuk.

They greet you happily, exclaiming, “Grace, we have read all your books. And we like them a lot! How do you like our books?”

Oh, my! you squirm because, I don't know them nor have I read their books!

You have not read their books?! grandma whispers, appalled. These people were inspired by God to each write a book in the Bible!

Four more writers of the Bible approach. And they are not Matthew, Mark, Luke and John! You turn redder than a ripe tomato and hide your face with shame, realizing, How could I know them?! I only read my favorite parts of the Bible!

So Mom, reading the Bible cover-to-cover isn’t such a bad idea after all. Let’s face it, you’re closer to the grave, er, Heaven, than you are to the womb.

Avoid those potentially, eternally embarrassing scenarios by reading the whole Bible once and for all this 2009!!!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love,
JC

At the beginning of JC’s letter, when I was reading the part about my mother, my eyes moistened. Then they moistened some more when I got to the part about meeting the writers of the Bible—I literally roared and rolled with laughter.

This, then, is my new-year resolution: read the Bible (new leaves of grace sent through JC) from beginning to end, in chronological order, one day at a time—for 365 days.

Happy New Year!