For 15 years, I was educated in Catholic institutions. Then came the approach of Abitur, and I realized: You’ve never read the entire Bible! I looked up the number of pages and thought: You can get through this in two weeks; 1,000 pages a week wasn’t a problem for me back then. So, I started on page 1.

It quickly became clear that the Bible wasn’t something you could speed-read. When I noticed that the fifth book of Moses felt like a summary of the first four, I got frustrated, abandoned the Old Testament, and read the four Gospels instead. After that, I had to put my Bible reading on hold because exam prep took over.

That “pause” ended up lasting around 17 years, during which I was just as disconnected from God as I had been in the 19 years prior. On Christmas Eve 2021, God ended my refusal to let Him into my life with a truly massive wake-up call. Since then, I’ve reoriented my life completely - not overnight; it’s been and still is a process. Far from an easy one. But the Bible accompanies me along the way.

I’ve "learned" to pray in stages. Initially, I wrote letters to God on my computer. Then I started searching for books and stumbled across two very different ones. At the same time, I joined a rosary prayer group and began attending church regularly. My prayer life has developed and shifted through these varied influences. There are phases of intense prayer and phases when I have little time or energy for God. But I check in with Him every night - only on very rare days do I simply say, “Lord, I’m too tired to pray today. Let’s talk tomorrow.”

No, I still haven’t read the entire Bible. But at least I’ve read the New Testament. As for the Old Testament, I often get stuck in the prophetic and poetic books. But I trust that God leads me to the texts I need right now. Some may just not be for this season. Others, I’ve read multiple times and still have a hundred question marks in my head - like with Ecclesiastes. But honestly, if you’ve read the Bible and don’t have questions, then you haven’t really read it.

By now, I’ve realized that reading the Bible front to back is a pointless endeavor because it’s not one book; it’s an entire library. I’ve also learned that there are many different ways to “read” it - each book requires a unique approach. And every reader does too.

What’s yours?