Literacy

A distressing sight, in my opinion, is an adult struggling to read.  It’s the harsh reality of someone cutoff from the world in a way that is avoidable.  Every act of kindness only reinforces the state of being.  The answer is obvious.  Yet the solution requires one to publically admit their position, ask for help, and then go through the stress of learning in the same way as young children.
 
Life is full of lessons to those, us, who struggle with being literate.  One might assume the problem is the sole possession of those who failed to discipline themselves when they were young.  Yet the truth is as far from this assumption as the east is from the west.  Each is, in his or her own way, unable to reach life’s lessons.  We struggle to understand the meaning in God’s voice.  We fail to listen to the dialogue in the communities in which we live.
 
The “we” is truly inclusive – I see but a few of my failures and even these are far too many to comprehend.  The voice of God is all around us and yet I find myself failing to listen.  Even the Word of God is lost to clich?s, metaphors, and assumed meanings.  We hang ourselves in the details, frequently losing the heart of the story along the way.
 
Yesterday’s observation applies to us today.  “What you've been shown here is somewhat like a letter in a sealed envelope.  If you give it to someone who can read and tell her, ‘Read this,’ she'll say, ‘I can't.  The envelope is sealed.’  And if you give it to someone who can't read and tell him, ‘Read this,’ he'll say, ‘I can't read.’”  (Isaiah 29.11, 12)
 
The answer is obvious.  Yet the solution requires one to publically admit their position, ask for help, and then go through the stress of learning in the same way as young children.  It is a journey you and I are on together.  Regardless of our age and any other obvious differences, we are on a shared journey with God.