Don't Judge a Book by its Cover

A few weeks ago I picked up a book at the library and I was so tempted to judge it by the cover. It had the typical Christian Women's book cover complete with pastels. I had done a search for a good devotional and this one seemed to fit the bill for all of my criteria but when I saw it on the shelf every impulse in my body said run. I couldn't pick up this book. I didn't want people to see me checking it out. What if someone saw it sitting on my coffee table? I would lose all of my street cred if anyone knew that I was in possession of this book (OK so as a young mother of 2 my street cred is already essentially zero, but still). I pushed past all of my impulses to bolt and I checked it out anyway. It was one of the best decisions I ever made; this simple book is literally changing my life. As I pick it up each day and read a new passage, I am refreshed and renewed. It is as if the book was written for me and it seems as though each message was crafted specifically for the day that I am reading it. I am so glad that I was able to put skepticism aside and find a true gem that God wanted to bestow on me.

I wonder how many life changing experiences I have missed simply because I was too skeptical to embrace them. I am the kind of person who looks at everything with a critical eye. I don't jump on bandwagons and I am careful not to get too excited about anything until I am sure that it is really worth it. I question the validity of nearly everything from sermons to salesmen. I just don't want to get sucked into all of the hype and then be disappointed. However, I have been learning that I have been selling myself short for a long time. All of this skepticism has really turned into a self fulfilling prophecy more often than not. I caution myself not to get too caught up in a spiritual movement and not surprisingly, my spiritual life stays rather dull and stagnant. I resist the impulse to participate in fashion trends (not always a bad idea) and my wardrobe is rather boring. I know that I can't jump at every offer that comes my way but I am learning to open myself up to certain possibilities and I am learning not to be so judgmental.

I know that this whole LifeWalking thing might just seem like the next great thing that will fire you up but leave no real lasting result. I get that you may not want to give it a try for fear of being let down again (one of my biggest reasons for being so skeptical). I just want to encourage you that this isn't just the next craze that will fire you up only to let you down; this is a lifestyle change that can transform the way that you see relationships and enable you to reach your full potential in ways you never dreamed possible. I know that I haven't exactly laid it all out perfectly at this time so please, contact me with your questions and concerns and trust that more information is coming but know that you can trust this process and most importantly you can trust God to use this process to transform your life.