I Read the Entire Bible in One Year and this is what I Learned

Four days remain in 2022 and I have one book left. Then I will have successfully achieved my New Year’s Resolution to read the entire Bible in one year.

While there are many one-year bibles on the market, I chose to read my grandmother’s Women’s Devotional Bible circa 1990. Though it has been well-loved, it’s in exceptional shape for being nearly as old as I am. I know my grandmother read it often, but I don’t think she ever read it cover-to-cover.

Nearly every day this year I sat down and read a few chapters, if not a whole book. Most days it was a joy, some days it felt like a chore. Some days I was too busy or exhausted to read, so I caught up on quieter nights. Most of my reading happened after Maya & Mateo went to bed, since it’s hard to concentrate on such dense reading with two toddlers constantly vying for my attention. Many nights they fell asleep to me reading it aloud to them, and many times I had to try and translate the Word on the fly, as Mateo requested, “Español, por favor Mami!” Some days I felt like the text was speaking directly to my heart, and other days it felt like the Word was two millennial away. But I persevered, and I can only imagine God is proud of my accomplishment, and my grandmother is, too.

When I embarked on this journey, I had a few expectations. I was looking forward to reconnecting with the favorite passages and scriptures from my youth. I was also hoping to build my Bible literacy more deeply. And I did both.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the daily Bible devotions that were peppered through the pages. Although this Bible was published in 1990, the wise women’s words were quite timeless. But I couldn’t help but be jealous of their mothering era, which didn’t include the dangers that came with the advent of technology, like cyber bullying, pornography, catfishing, and all the other hidden perils of having the internet at our fingertips.

I thought reading the Bible each day would transform me, but I still felt anger and pain, jealousy and sadness. The deeper I went into the Lord’s word, the more the world challenged me. But as I read tonight, the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:17)

While I thought reading the Bible in its entirety would answer all my questions, I actually have more questions than what I started with. But I also have more knowledge, more perspective, and many more underlined verses.

And I learned James is still my favorite book of the Bible.

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