I found myself in a retail bookstore this afternoon searching for Dr. Seuss’s “Go, Dog, Go!,” which I wanted to purchase for a baby shower gift.  It was my favorite book as a child.  (Although a close second was “The Shy Little Kitten,” a Little Golden Book that captured the essence of my personality and my adoration of fluffy kittens, of which I had many!)  Even though I loved Barbies, I also loved toy cars, so dogs driving old-fashioned race cars appealed to my sensibilities.  (I especially loved the illustration of the various types of dogs having a party in the tree.  I must have returned to that scene dozens of times because my original copy bears lots of stray crayon marks on that particular page.)  In any event, today I had to settle for “One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish” because apparently, the boastful “millions” of books in the moniker of this retail chain did not include my beloved childhood story.

In perusing the shelves, I found added disappointment.  I thought while I was there, I would pick up a couple of books for our 10-year-old sponsored child in Africa, Doreen.  After all, we will be seeing her in a couple of short weeks!  Typically, we are limited to mailing a 6×9 envelope of gifts to her because anything larger will be confiscated by Kenyan customs officials.  Thus, because mailing books is generally out of the realm of possibility, I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to give her one personally.  She told me when I met her last year that she loves science and wants to be a doctor or a nurse, so I really wanted to get her a fun science-oriented book, perhaps an activity book that would engage her imagination without requiring advanced English skills since she is still learning basic English.  To my dismay, the only activity books that I could find for girls were themed with dolls, princesses, fashion, crafts, or art.  No science books.  Even in our “developed” world, science is not a traditional subject for girls, at least not to marketers and publishers.

Alternatively, I hunted for other age-appropriate books.  Aside from the potential language barrier, I found it nearly impossible to find culturally-relevant stories and/or books.  Most of the books involved themes that a child living in the slums of Nairobi would not even comprehend, like having braces, or fighting dragons, or the adventures of imaginary (albeit Anglo-Saxon) fairies.  Or even a luxury so basic that we easily take it for granted– having your own bedroom, with a bed, other furniture, four walls, and a door.  A single room, illustrated in full, vibrant color in a children’s book, that looks nothing like the 8×8, dark, tin-roofed shanty that Doreen, her mother, step-father, and three sisters likely reside in. 

So I turned away from fiction and made my way to the “kids’ religious” section.  While many of the devotional books housed in that section still contained concepts that would be unfamiliar to a child of the slum community, I did pick up a beautifully-illustrated book of Bible stories depicting ethnically-appropriate figures (i.e., a “not so White” Jesus) that will help Doreen practice her English and teach her more about our God.  The epilogue of this book is just so precious:  “For anyone who says yes to Jesus, For anyone who believes what Jesus said, For anyone who will just reach out to take it, Then God will give them this wonderful gift:  To be born into a whole new Life, to be who they really are, who God always made them to be– their own true selves– God’s dear Child (paraphrase of John 1:12-13).  Because, you see, the most wonderful thing about this Story is– it’s your story, too!” 

I was worshipping in the middle of this vast chain bookstore!  For God’s story is universal, timeless, culturally relevant, creative, and dynamic.  And we get to live it with Him and others on this journey with us.  Thanks be to God that the Light of His story can reach even the most remote and desolate households.