Walking Zombies

     It’s a bitter cold day here in the South today. Believe it or not, it is possible for the temperature to suddenly drop below 30 degrees. Although I must say, the reaction of southerners to snow. . . I mean Sleet - is unbelievably enthusiastic and very entertaining to watch.

     Today is a day when all the college kids go running to their local coffee shops or if they desire coffee but want to avoid the chatter - pick up their favorite drink & head to the cozy nook in Barnes and Noble. At least that’s what I did.
     A girl can only take so much psych, and after reading a grand total of 5 pages (at least I finished a section) I decided to take a study break.  The grand thing about book stores is that there are ALL kinds of interesting books to look at. . .
Books on Philosophy. . .

. . . are right next to books on Dieting & other random psychology books. . .

. . .and then a few shelves down are books on new age, Wicca, myths and fantasy, history and Christianity. 

     So I’m walking around, after a crazy last couple of days, which have basically been consumed with my own schedule; and I have one thought. ONE Random thought. That blows my mind.There are probably 500 books in that section alone… each by a different person. 

I know -  you are probably thinking, "Duh! Where do you think books come from"----I know. I'm not THAT blonde.  
     It is the concept that each book represents the thoughts that fill up the heads of individuals who write them. Questions and concepts that plague the closet poet, the world evangelist, the mother turned fiction writer, the university professor, the world renowned doctor, the Graduate student of historical studies. . . and here I was concerned about not failing an exam. Where are my priorities? talk about pushing matters of LIFE AND DEATH to the back of my to do list. I became a little overwhelmed. 
     I like looking at things differently and recently I've been asking God to show me people differently. God never disappoints and over the last few weeks, I've realized that I love stories - especially PEOPLES stories, what makes them the way they are. In a society of individualism - I LOVE to listen (So, yeah - I might be that person eavesdropping on your conversation in the corner - but only because I'm curious of how you VIEW life) and the more I LOOK and LISTEN to see people as who they are, the more I see souls searching. WALKING ZOMBIES. Individuals looking for life who 'don't endure sound teaching, but with itching ears, accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and who have turned away from listening to truth and wandered off into myths' (2 Tim 4:3-4) and the more broken I become. I may have been standing in a bookstore but as I stood there surrounded by classic novels of past and present; I found myself reorganizing my priority list and aching for individuals in need of THE truth (John 4:16). 
     Next time you pick up a book - weather a textbook or a old classic think of the person who wrote it, I guarantee It will change your perspective a little bit. 
Until next time.
- J