Daily writing prompt
What’s a book that completely surprised you?
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today’s prompt question is: “What book completely surprised you?”

Honestly, my answer may surprise people, but the book that surprised me the most was my own — or rather, my own books.

You never truly understand how difficult writing is until you sit down and attempt to pour pieces of yourself onto paper. I’ve gained such a deep respect for authors because writing is more than words; it’s vulnerability, discipline, emotion, and courage all woven together.

For the past three years, I’ve been working on writing a Bible study. Not the polished, rose-colored version people often expect, but one layered with honesty, history, healing, and reflection. I wanted it to be something people could not only study, but also journal through and heal through at the same time.

There have been moments where I’ve sat reading over certain chapters and cried.

One of the most heartbreaking sections for me was writing about Cain and Adam — imagining Adam’s grief and possible admission of failing both Cain and Abel. Then there’s the story of Leah and Dinah, the same story many people know, but viewed through a different lens and perspective. Sometimes when you slow down and truly study scripture, you realize how much emotion exists between the lines.

As a new writer currently trying to navigate the waves of publishing — deciding when to publish, who to trust, what company to use, and whether to self-publish or not — I often sit back amazed at the women and men who came before me and did this without giving up.

I’ve always been a hopeless romantic at heart. In high school, I spent summers reading novels and getting lost in stories. But as I’ve gotten older and my tastes matured, I’ve grown to love hardback books, self-help books, biblically based books, history books, and even cookbooks. From Pride and Prejudice to The Great Gatsby, I’ve always loved books that make you think beyond the surface.

But the one book that continues to surprise me, even today, is still the Bible.

There is truly a story in it for everyone if you do not get trapped in everyone else’s interpretation of how you are supposed to read it. Within its pages there is healing, wisdom, conviction, heartbreak, restoration, and love.

Sometimes the judgment people feel does not come from scripture itself, but from the opinions and perspectives others place on it.

Yet when you read it for yourself, you begin to see something deeper: despite our imperfections, mistakes, failures, and sins, we were loved from the very beginning. Created intentionally. Wonderfully made in His image.

And maybe that’s why the Bible still surprises me — because no matter how many times I return to it, it continues to reveal something new not only about God, but also about myself.