Reading has always been a big part of my life. At the age of four, I taught myself to read. (?!) No, I'm not a genius. But I had four older sibblings who were able to read, and I felt left out. I loved looking at the cartoons in my sibblings' A.C.E. PACES and I SO desired to know what Ace and Christi were saying to each other! So I decided to ask my brothers and sister and mother the sounds of the letters I did not know...and soon I was able to read for myself what Ace and Christi were saying to each other!
From then on, I have loved reading. When I was eleven years old, I remember going to a library in the United States for the first time. What a wonderful place, where one could go and choose a book (or several books!) and read them, then come back and trade them for more!
Growing up, Dad always had books, books, books! His office walls were lined with shelves full of books! I'd hurry up and finish my school work so I could go out and read his books...everything from commentaries on Revelation to the biographies of great men of God....I "devoured" every one! When the sun was shining in our little cold-most-of-the-year town, I'd lay in the old wheelbarrow Dad had and read and read until Mom called us in for dinner.
But one of my favorite memories are of us reading together...with Mom and my sisters. We would acquire a new book we would all be interested in, and we would make time for reading time in the afternoons. I couldn't wait for our next reading time! When we were older, Sarah was the family seamstress, and I would sit next to her and read to her while she sewed!
What fantastic memories we created!
One of our all-time favorite books we read was "Papa's Wife." Written by Thyra Ferre Bjorn, a Swedish lady, who tells about her Mama and Papa who raised their family in a parsonage in Sweden. I remember being so inspired by the stories of this Mama who lovingly raised 8 children, while being the wife of the preacher who had vowed he'd never get married!
I doubt there are any better memories we could create with our children than reading to them...whether it be the Bible, missionary stories, or Reader's Digest!
