Why Bother?

Uncle Jeff came into the room where Sarah was curled up on the couch doing what she liked best….reading a book.

She uncurled herself, and said, “Where have you come from just now Uncle Jeff?” she asked.

“I’ve been helping out at a working bee at the church” he said, “the place needed a good wash down and there were some other odd jobs that needed doing around the place”.

Bobby came rushing in to the room bouncing a ball as he came. “Oh hullo Uncle Jeff”, he said stopping the bouncing. “Do you have any stories to tell us today?”

“My word, you DO like your stories don’t you?”  Uncle Jeff said as he sat down in the easy chair. “Well, as a matter of fact, I don’t have any stories off the top of my head, but I have been thinking about a good way to read the Bible stories for yourself now you are getting older. DO you read it at all Bobby?” he asked looking sharply a him.

Bobby looked a bit ashamed of himself. “Aw, no, not really”, he said, “It’s so hard to find where the stories are, and then I forget where I’m up to so I don’t bother….much”.

“Oh come now,” said Uncle Jeff, “It’s not that bad. What about you Sarah?” looking across at her.

“Well, I know I ought to”, Sarah said, “and honestly I DO try. But like Bobby said, I make a start and then I get too busy or too tired, and don’t carry on with it.”

“Well”, said Uncle Jeff, “I’m sure you would never be too busy or too tired to eat your tea each night. That feeds your body and gives you energy, and reading the Bible is what feeds your soul, and helps you do the right things.

“I’ll tell you a good way to do it so you won’t forget where you are up to….but you have to make up you mind to do it every night before you go to sleep. Or if you are a morning person, and wake up feeling great, do it then before you get up. But you need a couple of things to help you. Get an exercise book and pencil, and decide where you are going to read.

“ There are lots of places where there are very exciting stories. In fact, a good place to start would be right at the very beginning in the book of Genesis as this explains how everything began in the first place. There is no need to read a whole lot at once. Maybe just ten verses or a few more if it looks interesting.

Then follow the ABC method of making notes”.

“What do you mean by that Uncle Jeff?” Sarah asked.

“It’s quite simple really,” said Uncle Jeff, “ ‘A’ stands for A Good Title. So you think of a good name for the part you are reading and write that down.

Then ‘B’ stands for Best Verse. You look for the verse you like the best and write that down, or just the number of it.”

“Does  ‘C’ come next Uncle Jeff” Sarah asked, “what does that stand for?”

“Yes, ‘C’ stands for Challenge. Find something there that makes you stop and think that maybe you didn’t know that before or perhaps you should be doing that. Or maybe it is something that the person in the story should have done instead of what they did do!”

“Sounds like a lot of work”,  Bobby said dubiously. He didn’t like writing much.

“Well, I suppose it is a bit of work, but it is worth it in the long run”, said Uncle Jeff, “And you won’t forget where you get up to or what you’ve read about!”

“That sounds like a good idea”, said Sarah, “I’ll go and see if I can find a spare exercise book right now!”

“It’s alright for you Sarah,”  Bobby said a bit grumbly, “you like writing!”

“Well, perhaps we could do it together then” Sarah said, “You do the reading out loud and we’ll ask each other the questions and I’ll do the writing!”

“That sounds like a jolly good idea” said Uncle Jeff, “ and now how about putting the kettle on. I’m feeling thirsty!”

“Was there a ‘D’ Uncle Jeff?” Sarah asked as she got up.

“Well, if you really wanted to find one, you could look for a ‘Difficulty’….. something that you find hard to understand or something that the person in the story found hard to do. I’m sure it won’t be hard to find one of those!”

“No”, said Bobby, “All that writing is my big difficulty!!!”

“Oh come on Bobby, Sarah will do the hard bits. I’ll look forwards to hearing how you are getting on the next time I come round!”