An Open Book

Do you like to read?  I do.  Well, I go in spurts actually.  There are often times I get so immersed in a book that I can’t wait for the next chapter and other times I set it down for a few days and picking it up periodically.  I love how a book can engulf you in the story.  Opening up every aspect of the characters and scenery.  I love how open a book is. How honest a book is.  How endearing a book is.  Are you an open book?  

My life is an open book. Some of the pages are a little ripped, but it’s open…. Tim LaHaye

Don’t you love those book libraries that people build and hang on trees or fences?  My husband built one for our cottage road and we love seeing how it fills right up with books and other cottagers using and exchanging their reading material.  Finding that perfect book for a cottage weekend fills my soul.  Once, our daughter grabbed a book from it and was captivated right from the start. About 5 chapters in, she noticed all the middle chapters were missing.  The entire plot of the story… gone.  Introduction and conclusion all intact, but the depth of the story… missing.  There was no connection of the characters or the location.  The longing depth that you receive from a book was not there.  It was as if it was a disconnect from meeting someone new.  

Have you ever encountered this?  Not from a book, I mean. From someone you met or someone you are trying to get to know.  Some people are genuine open books.  They will gladly tell their story, their background, their upbringing, or their life in general while others only give it to you in bits and pieces.  A snippet of their childhood. A snapshot of their parents.  A glimpse of their work or school life.  The headlines, but not the story.

To compare to a book, these people are those books you tend to stop reading.  You just can’t get into the depth of the story because something is missing.  You keep putting the book down or rereading the chapter to see if you missed something.  Sometimes, I find these books (people) a challenge and I will work harder and harder to dig in to the story. Sometimes, I discover what is missing and the ‘book’ opens up to a whole new series of chapters. Sometimes, I put the ‘book ‘away.  I just can’t break through.  Sometimes, the story just ends.  No sequel. No trilogy. Just ends.  There was no longing for more.  The relationship with the story – with little to no depth or connection will come to an end if each chapter or phase does not have you wanting more.  

I would hope I am an open book.  I think I offer myself to others on a silver platter.  I genuinely open up about my life – all the good and all the bad.  I would hope others are not left confused or empty after meeting me.  We have instilled this into our children as well. Both our daughter and our son will open up freely to those who get to know them.  They both find it odd or puzzling if a new friend is hesitant or closed off at telling their story.  They find it hard for the relationship with a new friend to create depth and grow.  

In order to grow

In order to move through life

In order to love

You must be an open book. 

Let those who meet you get to know the real you.  Offer them the full trilogy of your life and not just the preface or trailer of your here and now.  That can create a bit of an allure, but it won’t create the overall climax of your life.  Depth is needed to sustain healthy relationships. 

So, be an open book.  Starting today, crack open your ‘spine’ and let the world read deeply into the story in which makes up who you are.  Your story is worth telling.  Now go… share yourself to the world.