We, along with other faith traditions, are called “People of the Book.” I am a person of books. A lot of new reads and some rereads keep me moving along.
Every now and again while reading anew, I find a sentence or paragraph that functions like a green light suddenly turning red. Do I step on the gas and barrel through, or do I slam on the brakes? Me, I press down hard on my reading brakes, reach for my pencil, and underline the passage that has suddenly stopped me. If the book is borrowed from a library or friend, then I scribble the passage on a scrap of paper.
These dramatic passages cause me to stop, meditate, question and wonder. Sometimes they sing poetic music in the midst of polished prose. Some pose seemingly unanswerable riddles, while others express words to live by, or words to die by. Like the Book of Proverbs, a cornucopia of pithy sayings, my underlinings encapsule challenging thoughts that touch into the depths of life, love, faith and the divine presence — soul-seeing sacramentals.
