Fossiling.
It’s so exciting.
You turn up somewhere new, all a-quiver with anticipation of what you might find. And then, you uncover something no human has seen before! It’s brilliant, and I’m not sure how to describe the feeling of being the first person ever to touch something so old and beautifully preserved. What it’s like to discover something novel from the past and working out how it fits into the whole of Creation. Piecing together how God designed it all is so thrilling.
It’s rather like digging into God’s Word, the Bible.
It feels the same, if not better, when you discover something new in His Word. When He speaks something deep into your heart that you’ve never seen before, something that can be truly life-changing.
But distractions still come. It’s far too easy to get embroiled in earthly cares and worries which can keep our focus from what really matters.
So here’s my experience of fossil hunting in Fair Isle (Scotland) and how I overcame many distractions to discover some beautiful specimens.
I hope these insights will help you see how you can also overcome distractions and apply it to your Bible reading. Do this and you’ll unearth your very own treasures from within…
Fossiling in Fair Isle
Fair Isle is a tiny Island halfway between Shetland and Orkney famed worldwide for its jumpers. But I wasn’t going there for that. No, I wanted to find some new specimens for my PhD research, and I’d been told it was an excellent place for fossil plants of the right age.
As you can imagine, I was pretty excited.
On arrival I was astounded by the bird life (the island is an international bird reserve and mating season was in full swing), the landscape was stunning (weird coastal landforms formed from centuries of intense weathering) and the sea was a tropical, turquoise blue as we anchored in the harbour (can I go swimming now please?).
There were many distractions…
1. Dive-bombing birds
It was mating season on the island. In one sense I felt privileged to witness the spectacle of thousands of seabirds getting frisky close-up and making nests everywhere. I was less amused when the Skuas divebombed me on my evening run or when the arctic terns flew straight at me sharp beaks protruding angrily from their faces as they protected their young. We’d been warned to wear helmets not because of rockfalls but to shield our heads from the birds! Or we could just stick a hand in the air so the birds embedded their beaks in that instead of our skulls. Hm.
It didn’t make for an easy fossiling experience.
Before we’d even started to dig there were obstacles. How on earth would we get the fossils from beside tern nests without ending up in A&E? My solution – get the men to do it while I directed from a distance 🤣
Seriously though, this highlights a common problem we can face when trying to read the Bible. Before we begin, plenty of distractions can fly right at us. Maybe your children are playing up and you can’t concentrate, perhaps the phone rings and you have to take the call as it’s probably the doctor with those all important test results. Or it could be any number of things.
How do you overcome this?
Don’t distance yourself like I did on Fair Isle. Ultimately I had to get in there and dig. And you know what helped me do it? Excitement at what I might find. I couldn’t let the boys have all the fun!
To help you overcome the distractions that come against Bible reading I suggest thinking of the times when you’ve dug into the Word before and gained something incredible from it – like life and health:
“My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body.” – Prov 4:20-22 (NIV)
2. Vomiting birds!
Not only were those pesky birds dive-bombing all over the place, but some of them (the Fulmars) had a nasty habit of regurgitating their dinner on us as we hammered!
Fossil collecting when you know you’re likely to get covered in fishy stomach contents is a little off-putting to say the least. And Bible reading can feel a bit like this. You may have got past the initial distractions, but trust me, there are plenty more that can pop up throughout. Perhaps you’ve been put off by difficult passages or boring prose (Book of Numbers anyone?). Maybe you think you’ll never be able to understand it so what’s the point.
Well… this is…
If you persevere God can speak directly to you through even the most yawnsome text or release understanding for the first time, leading to wisdom and insight:
“Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes.” – Psalm 119:97-99 (NIV)
And success and prosperity:
“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” – Joshua 1:8 (NIV)
Who doesn’t want that?
3. Beautiful scenery
The scenery on Fair Isle was amazing. Cliffs rose sharply from the sea which was sometimes angry and grey with huge white crests breaking on the shore, at other times calm as a millpond luring me in for a swim. Fun, but a wee bit chilly in the northern North Sea.
Sheep grazed peacefully above, flowers danced in the breeze and birds sang (think little, sparrow-sized ones rather than huge dive-bombing dinosaurs). It was too easy to stand about gawping or enjoy the puffins close-up all while scoffing a delicious picnic. But…
“Fossils? Oh right, that’s what we’re here for.”
The only way I managed to collect anything was by disciplining myself to look for specimens for a set amount of time and only then sit with my food gazing at the scenery afterwards. And repeat. Or perhaps rewarding myself with a swim only after I’d found a fossil.
And you can do this with Bible reading too.
Stuff happens in life, and it often seems nicer or more fun than spending time in the Word. But if you can build in a little discipline, I believe you’ll reap the rewards. I find reading little and often works well, as does setting aside time when you know you’re less likely to get interrupted. Build up slowly and before long you won’t be able to stop yourself delving in.
On Fair Isle I found some beautiful specimens and my ensuing research has helped the field of palaeontology grow.
If you persevere with reading God’s Word, you’ll find many treasures that you’ve never noticed before. Study the Bible and you’ll grow stronger in Him. And you’ll be better placed to help others grow as you share what you’ve learned.
Do also draw on the knowledge that many Christians before us have found life through reading and meditating on His Word. C. S. Lewis was one such reader who faithfully got into the Bible each day, and it’s clear from all he wrote that the Bible also got into Him.
As you read you’ll build your own experiences to look back on and help you persevere. There’s too much beauty and life in His Word to miss out just because of a few angry birds!
So go on… get digging.
God bless xx