• Blog
  • Meet Stephanie
  • Writings
  • Blind Dating
  • Speaking
  • Book Club
  • Archives
  • Get in Touch

Stephanie Rische

Blogger and Writer: Capturing Stories of God's Grace

June 12, 2013

On Judy Blume, Burning Bushes, and Timelessness

Tiger1The first time I read Judy Blume’s Tiger Eyes, I was just a little younger than Davey, the fifteen-year-old narrator and heroine. Now, some two decades later, I’m just about the age of Davey’s mom. Interestingly, the characters on the pages haven’t aged a day since our last visit.

 

On Saturday I heard Judy Blume speak about the debut of the movie version of Tiger Eyes, released last Friday. At the end of her talk, she opened the floor for a Q & A with the audience. To my astonishment, dozens of young girls stood up—from grade schoolers to middle schoolers to high schoolers—to let her know how her books had connected with them. Superfudge, Freckle Juice, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret: the same books that kept me company some twenty years ago.

 

“We read to know we are not alone,” C. S. Lewis said. And sure enough, Judy Blume’s books were there to let me know I wasn’t the only one wrestling through the crazy-making emotions that come with the territory of growing up.

 

At one point near the end of the Q & A session, a teacher took the mic and asked Judy why she thought her books had held up for so many years.

 

Judy thought for a moment and then said, “You know, I write about people, about feelings. And as much as technology advances and the world looks different in a lot of ways than it did when I wrote the book in 1981, people are still the same. They still experience the same emotions.”

 

Tiger2

***

The next day in church, the message was about Exodus 3, where God shows up to Moses in the form of a burning bush. In this scene, God reveals his name to Moses, and it’s kind of a curious one—a verb where we’d expect a noun: I Am. “Say this to the people of Israel: I Am has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:14).

 

God didn’t reveal himself as “I Was”—citing a track record of things he’d done in the past. He didn’t reveal himself as “I Will Be”—claiming what he’d do one day in the future. He was saying, in effect, Wherever you find yourself in the timeline of history, I Am there.

 

Generations come and go. Traditions change, culture fluctuates, technology thrusts us ever forward. But we humans, at our core, are still the same. We love and we lose, we laugh and we cry, we mourn and we rejoice. And in the midst of it all, God and his Word remain relevant, timeless.

 

Even more timeless and more timely, I dare say, than Tiger Eyes.

 

Tiger4

 

Note: For more on the burning bush artwork, visit http://fineartamerica.com/featured/burning-bush-anne-cameron-cutri.html.

4 Comments Filed Under: Literature Tagged With: books, burning bush, Exodus, Faith, God, I Am, Judy Blume, Moses, Names of God, religion, spirituality, Tiger Eyes, young adult literature
Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on email
Email
Share on twitter
Twitter

About Stephanie

I think that glimmers of grace are all around us, and I'd love to share those stories with you. I hope you'll grab a cup of coffee and join me at StephanieRische.com.

Quote of the Week

“Some things have to be believed to be seen.”
—Madeleine L’Engle

Discussion

  1. Erin Marshall says

    June 12, 2013 at 8:44 am

    Great thoughts, Stephanie! I love the timelessness of a good book and especially of God’s Word.

    Reply
    • Stephanie Rische says

      June 12, 2013 at 12:09 pm

      Thanks, Erin! This makes me want to read more books from my childhood. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Nancy Rische says

    June 16, 2013 at 9:54 pm

    What a great reminder that while everything around us is changing the “I Am” is still the same. What a comfort for me each and every day. Thanks!

    Reply
  3. Charles V. says

    February 16, 2018 at 1:18 am

    Hi,

    I would like to propose the link exchange deal with your website stephanierische.com, for mutual benefit in getting more traffic and improve search engine’s ranking, absolutely no money involve.

    We will link to you from our Fashion and Health authority site – http://www.crongdor.com/, from its homepage’s sidebar. In return you will agree to do the same to link back to one of our Immigration website based in Singapore, from your stephanierische.com’s homepage too (sidebar, footer, or anywhere on your homepage), with our brand name Immigration Solutions Singapore.

    If you are interested, kindly reply to this email.

    Thank you,
    Charles

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

welcome_stephanie_rische

Welcome!

I’m so glad you stopped by. I hope you will find this to be a place where the coffee’s always hot, there’s always a listening ear, and there’s grace enough to share.
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Personal Delivery

Sign up here to have every new post, special newsletters, and book club news delivered straight to your inbox. (No carrier pigeons will be harmed in this delivery.)

Free eBook

20 Days of Prayers...just for you!
Submit your email to receive a FREE copy!

    Recently

    • Grandma’s Story
    • What Love Smells Like
    • Threenager Summer
    • Elastigirl Arms
    • On Savoring

    Book Club

    • August 2018
    • July 2017
    • April 2017
    • November 2016
    • August 2016
    • March 2016
    • March 2016
    • December 2015
    • September 2015
    • July 2015
    • May 2015
    • January 2015

    Favorite Categories

    • Friday Favorites
    • Grace
    • Literature
    • Scripture Reflections
    • Writing

    Other Places to Find Me

    • Faith Happenings
    • CT Women
    • Boundless
    • Single Matters

    Connect With Me

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest

    All Content © 2010-2014 by Stephanie Rische • Blog Design & Development by Sarah Parisi of Parisi Images • Additional Site Credits