When I was eighteen, a friend of mine gave me a bookmark and I was ecstatic.

Not only because I love to read and always need a bookmark nearby. Not only because it was beautifully handcrafted.

I was over the moon because my friend had cross-stitched my name on the bookmark!

With a name like Sharla, you can’t go to the drugstore and find a personalized toothbrush. Stores do not stock key chains or notebooks or pencils with “Sharla” printed on them.

So having something with my name on it felt so “personal.” It was unique to me. Only another Sharla would want it (and I’ve only met two other Sharlas in my lifetime).

Recently, my small group was studying 1 Corinthians with the book Live Full, Walk Free. In the last chapter, author Cindy Bultema encouraged readers to personalize 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 by inserting their name in place of the word love.

For example:

Sharla is patient, Sharla is kind. Sharla does not envy, she does not boast, Sharla is not proud. Sharla does not dishonor others, she is not self-seeking, Sharla is not easily angered, she keeps no record of wrongs.

Honestly, this exercise made me cringe a bit because every statement seemed so untrue. I have been known to envy grandparents who have their grandchildren in the same city. I am definitely not patient when my computer fails to cooperate. (Just ask my husband.)

But the process of personalizing this passage was helpful. It brought me to my knees, asking the Holy Spirit to weave this kind of love into my heart.

Personalizing Scripture can be a meaningful spiritual practice. Sometimes it’s easy to read the Bible like a dusty volume directed at people who lived thousands of years ago. Or hear a passage and think of someone else who needs that message. We don’t always feel the impact of God’s words on our own hearts and lives.

But when we put our own names into the passage it can take on a deeper meaning.

One of my favorite passages is Zephaniah 3:17:

The Lord your God is with you,
    he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you;
    He will quiet you with His love;
He will rejoice over you with singing. (NIV 1984)

Now if I put my own name in the verse:

The Lord your God is with Sharla,
    he is mighty to save Sharla.

Suddenly, God seems nearer. I marvel that the Lord rescued insignificant me from Satan and hell.

He will take great delight in Sharla;

Amazing thought! God’s heart is gladdened by me!

He will quiet Sharla with His love;

God knows I am easily stressed out. He is all too aware of my worries and concerns. But He can also quiet my insecurities and anxieties with His love.

He will rejoice over Sharla with singing. 

What?! I inspire song? And music? What an incredible image of God singing songs with my name.

Now it’s your turn. Put your own name in Zephaniah 3:17.

Revel in God’s love for you. Rejoice in His saving strength. Listen for His love song.

Next step: This week practice Personalizing Scripture. Download a resource with Scripture verses to use for this exercise or find your own. Journal what you learned through these personal words of God.