she's a reader

I was recently listening to an episode of What Should I Read Next in the shower (as one does) in which the guest was describing herself as a slow reader: She said some things along the lines of, "I relish books. I like to savor the words. If I find a sentence beautiful I want to go back and reread it. I will reread the entire sentence to consider its full context." 

I thought, that's me! That's why I am a slow reader.

I am a very slow reader, but I've always reluctantly given this information in a self-deprecating way. I am a slow reader, so it takes me forever to get through a book. I am a slow reader, so I don't read nearly as many books as my reader friends can in a year. I am a slow reader, because I have such a hard time focusing, even on books I love. But this guest was talking about her slow reading in a positive light: Savor. Beautiful. Relish. 

And it led me to think: what other neutral characteristics do I have that I tend to diminish, or that lead me to think poorly of myself? What if I look at these character traits as good things, rather than negative - what if I look at them as God-given? As aspects of my personality that God sprinkled in because he thought, "this will make an interesting human!"

She will so enjoy reading that she will want to savor every word. She will re-read sentences just because they are beautiful. She will only read a few books a year, but those books will touch her heart and bring light to her life. They will form her. Yes, she's a reader.