Fill-in-the-Blanks

The hubby and I are on a little getaway post-wedding to have quiet time with each other and the Lord. He is studying up for sermons and reading good books he’s had on his nightstand, and I am studying for my upcoming life group, and a retreat. So far it’s been wonderful!

Anyway, in the bathroom of this AirBnB, there are a few little magazines on the shelf next to the toilet. This obscured title caught my eye. Because of the little blurb of text underneath it, I figured out pretty quickly what the missing letters are.

(See how I conveniently left them out of the picture? This post has to have a purpose, now. Come on…)

But then I started thinking, what other words could possibly fit? I guess it depends on your perspective, or where you are in life.

For an actor, it could be ‘Range is hard, but beautiful.’ Because we all know there are some actors who just don’t cry well. Emotional range is hard.

For a kid who’s struggling with who they are and the latest iteration of themselves is a little off the beaten path, it could be ‘Strange is hard, but beautiful.’ Maybe they’ve found acceptance and friendship in a quirky group of kids that other people think are strange.

For a decorator, maybe it’s ‘Orange is hard, but beautiful.’ I really do enjoy the color orange, but I can’t imagine having to use it in decorating. I’ve seen some lovely orange-ish rooms, but not sure I would be able to make it not seem obnoxious.

For a guy who works on Wall Street, perhaps it’s ‘Exchange is hard, but beautiful.’ Trading stocks is not an easy business, but if you really love the thrill of the chase, and high blood pressure, and it all turns out alright, then I suppose it could be beautiful.

For a vet perhaps it’s ‘Mange is hard, but beautiful.’ How many of us have seen the videos of a rescued doggo who is one day from death, but after seeing the vet and getting cleaned up, the next thing you know they are a robust little guy who loves everyone.

For a person who loves organizing, it could be ‘To arrange is hard, but beautiful.’ The process of decluttering and getting items into ‘a place for everything and everything in its place’ is certainly not an easy task for anyone. And it depends on how much stuff you start with, too. But the end result is beautiful!

What you think this phrase says depends a lot on who you are and what your experience has been. And because we haven’t read the article this title goes with, we don’t have any more details than what we’ve created in our minds.

I think that’s also easy to do with Scripture. We come to it with our life experiences, our perceptions, our biases, and sometimes we read something we don’t understand, or we aren’t sure about. And instead of reading more to get the full context, we stop and fill in the blanks with what makes sense to us.

But God’s Word isn’t a Choose Your Own Adventure story. When we read the Word of God, we have to put ourselves aside. We can’t approach it with the idea that we already know what it says. We don’t learn that way.

“The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance, it’s the illusion of knowledge.” – Daniel Boorstin

When we don’t understand something, there are resources to help us figure it out. First, we ought to pray and ask God to teach us what the passage is saying. Reading the surrounding verses and chapters helps as well. We can also ask a wise friend or spouse, and read a trusted commentary. When we employ those tools, it’s like we just moved that other magazine off the title so we can see what it really says. (It says ‘Change’.)

God wants us to read and know His Word. He is more than willing to help us, too! We just have to get ourselves out of the way so we can hear His voice over our own.

John 14:26-27
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
(27) Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Psalm 119:18
Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.

Ephesians 1:15-17
Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
(16) Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
(17) That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: