"A book, too, can be a star, a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe." - Madeline L'Engle
A bookstore is a magical place. Each book is a portal to a new world. Characters we may never have had the opportunity to meet, wait patiently for us to open the pages to their lives. Typed words share their hopes and dreams, their fears and anxiety. They share their lives with the reader. In our reach are far off kingdoms, neighborhood coffee shops, small villages and big cities, romance and friendship, heartache and joy. In their pages is access to a new reality where unimaginable is possible.
We meet God in places like this. With God the unimaginable is possible. And the stories inside these books - whether intending to or not - can reveal the greatness of our God ins his creation.
We can meet God in many places. It is easy to find God in the woods - in nature and the mountains. Romantic literature spoke deeply of connection to God through the outdoors. Just go to Yosemite and see for yourself. It's hard to look at the expanse of creation and not see God. Many find God in churches. His people are there, his word is taught there. We worship him there.
But I find God in a bookstore. God is a beautiful story teller. The Old Testament is a collection of different stories about how a creator God loves his creation, his people made in his image so deeply even when they let him down. In a bookstore are stories, stories of human suffering and joy, stories of new cultures and people, stories of hope and fear. And here I can see how God is weaving himself through the stories of mankind - both real and fictional - and that is a beautiful thing.
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