Cody Reads and Shares His Thoughts

Preface                  

        If you've been following the blog, you know that I sometimes have a guest contributor.  My brother, Jay, has often chimed in when asked and I find that helpful in many ways.  One of which, is the different perspective of his thoughts, reduced to words, even on the same book or subject can be so very unique.   Differing points of view, and being open to them, is what makes the world go 'round.  In my small place in the world, it keeps the blog from becoming stagnant and hopefully more representative of what you readers think and want to hear about.  In order to stretch that arm of the blog a few inches more, this week's guest is my son, Cody, who is also a reader.  Occasionally, he will read the blog pre-publication or one of my book reviews and then comment with some pretty astute observations that almost hadn't occurred to me.  Since he has that breath of fresh air viewpoint, I invited him to share with you his take on reading and how it has meaning in his life.  Again, fresh thoughts.  I hope they make you think too!   -
                                     

                                                            What does reading mean to me?

                                                                                           

   Cody Wolfrum

(Pictured on the left)  

         What does reading mean to me? Kinda a funny question if you ask me to try and keep it in a concise response, but I will do my best. There must be some history and context given first before explaining what reading means to me now.

Growing up, I was not an avid reader despite being tested in school to show that I read at several grade levels above my own. Kinda funny don’t you think? Going to school and reading in class or at home with homework, I often found myself counting the pages I had to read. I would then read and count down the pages as I went along. The subject didn’t matter, whether it was literature, science or history. This pattern continued into adulthood, but there was a transition in that I read for work. Reading for work consisted of policies, procedures and reports. Eventually my brain turned to mush. I then looked for a way to exercise my brain and give it the stimulation that it needed.

In 2025, started picking up physical books and reading for the purpose I mentioned above. I started reading the specific genre of thrillers and suspense, but I did branch out to others. Around October of 2025 I started to read another book and what is called the best-selling book of all time, the Bible. 

I had attempted to read the bible growing up, but much like school I found myself checking out and counting down the pages to the next chapter. When I was 39, I found myself wanting to read the Bible for a matter of understanding faith, Jesus Christ and how that might impact myself. Growing up religion was hit and miss and I thought of it as a routine. Religion at that time had no context or substance to me. Fast-forward to a lot of trials, tribulations and thinking that I could do it on my own, I decided to read the Bible to gain just that. 

Reading the Bible started as a process to gain understanding and developed into a relationship between myself and God. I began to read, reflect and understand that the Bible is not a collection of stories based on characters instead it is a series of historical documents about real people. The Bible provides me with insight on how I should live my life, how I should act, how to deal with stress, uncertain times and unruly people. There is not a time that I can recall that I have not read something from the Bible that did not stick out to me and made me think.

My relationship with reading has changed over time so has the answer to the question of what reading means to me. I feel as though I have gained much through reading the Bible, but at the same time have such a long road to travel.