It’s been over ten years since I started actively exploring other books asides academia.
It first started as a desperate search for answers and peace at a very difficult period of my life. I was going through a very terrible heartbreak, was depressed, and was searching for a voice to tell me how to get out of that rut. In that season, as a final year student with worsening grades that was unlike me, I had friends who bought me books like Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer etc. I also remember my eldest brother gifting me The Confident Woman by Joyce Meyer.
With the support of my friends, the voice of my favourite aunt reminding me it was too late to have a carry over/extra year, and the books that gave some perspective about what was going through, I was able to pull myself together and graduate successfully.
The next force was another depression because of a choice I made to preserve my peace. I rummaged through every book I could find for a voice to change my mind. My wardrobe in my parents house are filled with so much books I bought at every opportunity I stepped out of the house to run errands. At the end of the day, the answer came in the form of a very little book titled Answers to Prayers by George Muller.
These were the two defining experiences that made me realise that truly you find what you seek.
Ask and it shall be given. SEEK and you shall FIND. Knock and door shall be opened to you – Matthew 7:7
With that, I went on a journey of self discovery and self awareness. For every concern I had, I believed there was a book addressing it.
I remember hating myself one time for being different. I wanted to make sense of my emotions and why I acted the way I did. Why did I think the way I did? And why wasn’t I confident in myself? I was always judging myself with the lens of other people. But I also wondered why I thought the way they thought was better than I ever would. I recall crying and asking God to show me a book to read on that matter. My mind went to search books by Tim LaHaye and I stumbled on Spirit Controlled Temperament.
Then there was the part where I wanted to understand my emotions because I realised I was a sensitive person. I went hunting again for Joyce Meyers books and read Daniel Goleman. From them I got a clear perspective on the matter and became more confident in myself. It also made me empathize more with others.
Extending grace/ empathizing with others begins with understanding yourself.
Afterwards, I read for different reasons such as to: relax, de-stress, put myself into the lives of others, be aware of what’s happening in the world, for fun, for personal development, and to gain a different perspective on controversial matters.
With reading, I get to learn at my own pace. I get to feast on the depth of writers experiences that may never make it to social media or any video/audio forum.
So if you ask me why I read. It’s simple. Reading changed my life and still is.
What’s your area of concern or development? Search for a book on it, read previews to be sure it has what you are looking for, put your phone away, sit and read. You’ll be amazed how your life will change. Little by little.
