I've been to Target a lot. I'm a mom of three. I live in the suburbs. I live five minutes from a Target. In fact, my dad passed away and about six months later, the Target by us went in. I figured it was a gift from my dad sent from heaven above, so I probably should support it, no? (That was a joke)
I've been to Target a lot and the teenage workers ask, "Can I help you find anything?" And I answer, "Oh, Honey Child, I could write my doctoral dissertation on Where to Find Things in Target."(Of course I don't say that... I say, "I'm good, thanks" and move on to the paper towels.)
I go to Target with a list. A list I often forget at home, but lately have been putting on my phone so I remember it. Except usually I forget to look at it. But every once in a while, I'm a Super Put-Together Mom and I remember to pull the list up and go straight to that aisle, get what's on my list and go home. Okay, fine, that was a bold-faced lie. I bring my list and inevitably a random purchase (or two) (or three) (maybe four?) finds it's way into my cart. They're fun little surprises I didn't even know I needed (pfft...yes, totally needed).
I know my Target. I know where to find things. I might not know the baby aisle quite as well as I used to, because that isn't my current searching or need, but I know where to find it if I had to.
If you came to my Target I'd be super excited to show you around and if you needed help finding something, I'd love for you to ask me!
_________________________________________
And yes, I'm going to tie in Target with the Bible, because I've heard people say so many times, "I don't know the Bible, I don't know where to find things, I'm intimidated by the amount of stuff in the Bible, I feel dumb asking questions. It seems like everyone else knows everything."
And I think about Target and how I know my Target. And I relate that to knowing the Bible. Ready to see the similarities?
I know my Target because I go there. Pick up the Bible and go there.
I know my Target because I repeatedly go there, and have done so for 15 years. Repeatedly going to the Bible means you start to learn about it. You can't help but know things about it if you're in it. (That doesn't mean you're any better than someone going to it for the tenth time, it just means you've been there longer.)
I know where things are in my Target because I look and search and find. You could say I've studied Target! I know things in the Bible after I look and search and find.
I know my Target because there are people working there that can tell me where to find things. Or I can ask a friend who's with me where an item is. I can learn more about the Bible because there are people who are teaching me and there are people I can ask for help and insight. And not one of those people is offering to help and then laughing at me for not knowing. They should be excited to help!
I know Target because I go with my list and I find those things. A fun way to learn more about the Bible is to go to it with a subject or a topic and search.
But of course, those fun surprises that pop up in the Dollar Spot or the endcaps are also cool, right? Isn't it so good how we can open our Bible and have a verse jump out and speak to us? It's just what we needed at that moment.
Friends, don't be afraid or intimidated by the Bible. Study, learn, visit, take a friend, ask questions. Tell yourself it's like learning anything - just because God is involved doesn't make it scary. It just makes it more beautiful than anything else you will ever learn! God gave us His Word for a reason. And I seriously doubt that reason is to make us feel incompetent, insecure and just...dumb. His reason is so we can know Him.
But that's only going to happen if you pick it up and try. (Oh, and Bibles? They're in Aisle 16.)
Comments