A LIFE IN VERSES

Read your Bible, kids

Psalm 139:13, English Standard Version

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.

One sticky evening when your Mom and Dad were getting frisky, God got out his knitting needles and whipped out a squishy little thing: you!

Later, you were born, mad as hell to be out in the world, and full of sin. There wasn’t anything you could do about it. Even though God stitched you together, you were kissed by Satan the minute you drew in your first breath.

If you were lucky, your parents taught you about your sin before you could walk. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,” you were told. And “Jesus loves the little children,” they would recite solemnly, completely ignoring how creepy that sounds. When you could talk, you would accept Christ into your heart, peering down at your chest, wondering where the little door was that he walked through, imagining him with a bucket of paint in hand, doing renovations inside that dark, warm place.

Ephesians 6:2, English Standard Version

“Honor your Father and Mother,” (this is the first commandment with a promise),

You sassed your Mom, spinning around in the doorway between the hallway and the kitchen, firing off a snappy retort that first hung in the air, weightless, and then dropped like lead. Her eyes flashed like fireworks. When your dad came home, he held you against his chest and paddled you, the spatula bouncing off your shoulder blades like you were a trampoline. One of many such occasions he would later deny ever happened.

“Say the verse,” he said afterward, his voice ever-soft. And you choked it out between sobs, your face and your back lit up like the Fourth of July.

John 3:16, New International Version

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

You watched your older siblings get baptized, but you never were. First, you were too scared of the water. Later, you were too embarrassed. You imagined standing in front of the whole church, your long, calico dress clinging wetly to your body, soaked hair slicked across your face.

When communion came around, you did not partake. You had to be baptized before you got the tiny purple plastic cup and the paper-thin wafer. Your stomach growled. You wondered what everyone was thinking as they closed their eyes and sipped the grape juice, slipped the cracker into their mouths.

Exodus 20:7, New American Standard Bible

You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

Your friend slept over, but neither of you could keep your eyes closed for more than 30 seconds. Some time in the night, you crept, hand in hand, to the kitchen, pulling a Ziploc bag of home-grown blackberries out of the freezer for a midnight snack. You ate them in the guest bed, mouths stained blue. “Let’s say bad words,” she suggested. “You first.”

“Gosh,” you whispered shyly. “Hate,” she giggled back. “Darn,” you said, a little louder. “Heck!” she squealed. You were thrilled, all the way down to your littlest toe. It was the most fun you’d ever had. The guilt would stay with you for well over a decade.

Philippians 4:13, New American Standard Bible

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Your first cigarette was in the parking lot of a movie theater. It made you choke and then it made you dizzy. You steadied yourself against the hood of the car, leaning, nonchalant. “Finish it,” you told yourself. “Do not stop.” You finished it. You waited until your friends had left to lean over and throw up in a scraggly bush.

You had gone to the movies, you might as well smoke too.