When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you…(Leviticus 23:22)
I have found a new source of daily inspiration. It is within the margins of my Bible.
I like to write in the margins of books. Here in the margins, I continue the conversation that the author has begun. I add my comments, my affirmations, and my questions. Held within the margins are a journal of how I have walked with these words and made them be a part of my faith’s journey.
Each author has harvested some part of Truth and invited me to share in the margins. Gleaning from their revelations, I have found food upon which I can feed.
I also love to doodle when I am concentrating. Sometimes I write words––sometimes I draw designs or simple pictures.
Imagine my surprise when I found, quite by accident, a “new” form of journaling. It is called art journaling. The idea behind this devotional format is to have your conversation with God on the margins of your Bible.
Two months ago, I began finding nourishment in the margins. For example, when I read Isaiah 61, I began prayerfully asking questions. Although these words were written a very long time ago to a group of people long since gone, I found they were words for me. On the margin, I asked, “Who are the poor that live among my life?” As I drew the question in various colors of pencil, I began to think of people who were worried, angry, hurting, and having great trouble. I began to pray for each of them.
As I doodled within the margins next to this text, I drew arrows around the words “brokenhearted,” “captive,” and “prisoners.” As I continued to think about these words, I saw that the “good news” wasn’t meant to be platitudes or advice. I found that the “good news” was any means of communicating hope, freedom, and light to those poor fellow travelers sharing this path with me. Sometimes, it meant just sit still and be present; sometimes, give a hug.
Finally, as I continued to digest this spiritual food, I gathered that the reason I am to proclaim the good news is so they can display the splendor of God’s glory. In doing so, they can rebuild the ruins of their life, restore the places that have been devastated, and renew what prior generations have destroyed (Isaiah 61:6).
When I digested that reason for proclamation, I had a new vision. My words, my actions, and my being are to be a proclamation of God’s glory. I am to listen to the poor and hear the need before me. As I do, I am invited by God to proclaim the news that will provide them hope, freedom, and light in their world. Proclamation isn’t always a vocalization of concepts, theories, or theology. It is God speaking through my whole being. To me, this vision of being is what it means to answer that of God in the other.
Here’s one more thing I learned through these conversations in the margins: God still speaks.
—Annie Glen
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