My Cheap Wal-Mart Bible

My Best Rash Decisions:

When I was 19, I spent my spring break in Los Angeles with a friend. One day after brunch, and after a couple of mimosas, we decided to go down to Venice Beach and get tattoos. We walked along the boardwalk until we saw a tattoo parlor with a fair amount of people in it (because of course that meant it had to be good), and we both got tattooed. Sorry Mom and Dad.

When I was 20, I was out with another friend in Dallas, and we had an hour to kill before our reservation for one of the new escape rooms. We were contemplating how to spend the hour, and I got the bright and random idea to go to a tattoo parlor and get my cartilage pierced. Needless to say an hour later I showed up at the escape room with a pierced cartilage. Sorry Mom and Dad.

At 21 I got offered the opportunity to spend a year in France. I jumped at the opportunity, and instead of researching the best fight plans for my trip, I immediately bought the first pair of tickets that seemed like a good deal. I didn’t consult my parents because hello, I knew I had just scored the perfect airfare. Again, sorry Mom and Dad.

I have been incredibly blessed though because all three of these rash decisions have turned out in my favor. I love my tiny cross tattoo. I still feel like a rock star with my cartilage piercing, and turns out I really did actually have a pretty awesome flight deal for France. Three examples of rash decision success right here. I think my all time favorite rash decision though was my cheap Wal-Mart bible.

One weekend, my second year of college, I went on a student ministry retreat with my school’s Baptist Student Ministry program. I was so excited to spend the weekend worshiping God and making new friends. The only catch was that I had left my bible back in my hometown, and I did not want to drive the three hours to go pick it up. I was disappointed that there was no Christian bookstore near my university, so I thought my best option would be to go to Wal-Mart, buy a cheap bible, and just use it for the weekend. After that I could give it away, or do whatever with it.

I quickly grabbed off the shelf a dull brown Foundation Study Bible that was a New King James Version. I figured the bible would do for the weekend, even though it was a cheap Wal-Mart bible. I packed it in my bag, and headed out for a great weekend. It wasn’t until the weekend was over with that I really sat down, and looked at my cheap Wal-Mart bible. As I flipped through the pages I saw how passionately I had interacted with my bible at the retreat. There were highlights, notes, and prayers written all along the pages and text. This thing that I had considered a cheap replacement all of a sudden became a book filled with God’s holy word, and a divine plan of my life.

I had to laugh at myself because I had vehemently disregarded the power of a dull brown cheap Wal-Mart bible. I hadn’t considered that even a dull brown cheap Wal-Mart bible could have incredible power because it is filled with God’s holy word. I began to wonder, “What else have I discarded or thought less of in my life either because of where it came from or packaging?” “What else have I discarded or thought less of that was filled with the holy power of God?” It is easy to disregard and think less of people. It is easy to disregard and think less of places that seem so “uncivilized” to our eyes. It is easy to disregard and think less of objects when we don’t see them as tools for the Holy Spirit to use in and through us. I asked myself, “How can I serve God well when I completely disregarded his word just because I didn’t like the packaging?”

My cheap Wal-Mart bible basically crushed me into humility, and then it started to build me back up through the words that God had put into it. 1 Peter 3:3-4 says: “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”

My cheap Wal-Mart bible taught me that this verse not only reflects how I should hold and regard myself, but how i should hold and regard others as well. God can make beautiful things out of the dust, but he makes them beautiful with and for his glory. Not the outward glory of the world. My cheap Wal-Mart bible, that I still use two years later, has been the biggest gift. It has also reinforced the notion in me that sometimes making rash decisions can be a good thing.