Reading Peace and Snow Days
The Huddleston Family borders on the top side of nerdishness. “Really?” You gasp in disbelief – but only if you don’t know us.
My girls loved snow days not only because they got out of school, but they also because they also had Daddy’s complete attention for a whole day. He read off and on while the outside gales blew around us. When they were young, the books were age appropriate, little ones being read in short spurts. As they aged, they’d bring in their toys and play around Ronald’s feet as he read the sagas of the Sackett family. Or it could have been the futuristic novels of Ray Bradbury. Even the old English textbooks became fodder for the girls who were avid readers, with or without Daddy’s warm tones filling the room.
It had been a few long days in the hospital where recovery has been set back by physical problems. My son-in-law Mark had purchased some books. I asked Ronald to read to me. Naturally, he complied.
It was AMAZING how quickly I was distracted by the simple book entries. My pain did not go away, but it did abate. My burdens fled, and my pain decreased. I was shocked.
When I told Mark what had happened, he explained that in our bodies we have a parasympathetic system that brings calm to our minds and bodies. Reading and music have both had interesting and real effects on my body as it recovers.
In this time of ‘pandemic panic’, find some funny stories to read to your family. Depending on the ages of those within your household, find some interesting mysteries or sci-fi short stories that are good distraction. Introduce your family to some of the short stories by O’Henry, Mark Twain, Louis L’amour, or James Thurber. How about poetry by Ogden Nash? Totally hysterical! Holes is a great read aloud book for teens. The movie does the book justice, but some of the funniest lines were missed in translation. Reading books like The Hobbit and watching the movie to compare is an interesting activity.
I’m full of suggestions, and I will probably drive you crazy with my ideas. Even reading the Bible will bring about a different mindset and heart focus.
Psalm 119.105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
Revelation 1:3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.
Romans 15:4
For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
