Emma

Well, I have just recently finished reading Emma by Jane Austen. I had a small copy and kept it in my handbag (Aussie word usage) to read while waiting at all the places I find myself waiting...like the hospital to get Faith's prescription refilled. By the way, I was there for an hour and a half this time. Anyway, I am so glad I picked up that book to read and didn't talk myself out of it again because I have often thought those types of books to be frivolous. Didn't someone always say not to judge a book by its cover...well, I judged and refused it a long time ago...until this summer. And then I nearly put it down after a few chapters (it has 55 chapters), because I initially found the main character too much to stomach. She was too full of her self, too opinionated, too judgemental, too controlling. Hmmmm....maybe a little too close to home. And sometimes I felt like I just wanted to smack some consideration into her pretty little head. But I read on...after all it is a CLASSIC. As I continued reading, I discovered Jane Austen introduced characters who were worse than Emma was. These other "bad eggs" and the short list of "good eggs" actually made a huge impact on Emma's life in such a way that I began to soften towards her and consequently was able to finish the book. Perhaps the reason this book is a classic has to do with how Miss Austen captured human character in a way that seems to transcend society, culture, and generation. I know that Pride and Predjudice opened up a lot of great converstion for Faith and me after we had both read it. I am looking forward to the same after Faith reads Emma. On a second thought, the last sentence written in the Afterword of Emma reads about Jane Austen's writing..."She wrote a book that only a woman could write, but that every man should read." Perhaps it would serve my sons well to also have the opportunity for conversation. I am also very thankful that God allows people into our lives through the Holy Spirit to challenge, encourage, and enable us to grow up in Him.