Taking up the Challenge.

Taking up the Challenge.

My Pastor put forth the challenge; to hand write the book of Romans. I took up the challenge and was truly surprised by the result.

Having re-written Romans, I felt it was helpful and without a doubt; relaxing. The experience caused me to consider I continue hand writing other books of the bible. I had a number of choices and after some prayer, chose Revelation.

Initially, I couldn’t put my finger on what is was that I got out of doing this exercise, explaining it to a friend as; not knowing what awaits, but picking up little words, words I might have skipped over before.

It seemed to me, I was taken to another level, not a full level, but a deeper layer. A layer unseen to me before this. Something akin to an onion. You know; it has layers, but also a finer layer. One which is almost imperceptible, but it's there.

I ended looking it up online and found a piece which perfectly described how I felt about the exercise. The piece was written by kairospartnerships.org and included practical tips, should you wish to do this exercise for yourself.

I’ve kind of summarised what was written in the following passages, adding my own experience, understanding and benefits as I went:

They wrote; “Hand copying forces us to slow down and notice details we might otherwise miss when simply reading the text.” He/she said to recognise the process to be unhurried, for it is supposed to slow us down, so as to engage further and more deeply.

Expect to see details you’ve never seen before. Expect questions to arise you haven’t thought about before. And; expect God to meet you on the journey. The writer also suggests to start with a simple prayer; “Lord, teach me something new today.” While details and questions did arise, prayer beforehand was something I hadn’t considered. Although I do pray before reading, I hadn't considered it before writing. I shall add that in when I write next.

The writer also suggests to go at your own pace. (I found this to be true. When you pressure yourself, you don’t enjoy the journey as thoroughly – which my pastor had made mention.) There is no pressure to complete. Nor does the writing have to be perfect.

As the writer of the piece said; This isn’t about perfection, or even legibility, but engagement with the book and with the Father.

The Father wants to redeem, renew, restore and reconcile us through Jesus Christ and we can anticipate to be drawn further into the story, as we devote leisurely and deliberate time to working through it.