Professional basketball player Sean McDermott is writing out the entire Bible by hand for a very sweet reason.
“A couple weeks ago, I felt a tug on my heart to start writing out the entire Bible word-for-word to give to my kids when they are older,” the basketball star wrote in a post on Instagram that feature his Bible alongside his hand-written Bible. “I reluctantly started…knowing that it would be quite a journey. To write from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22 for both Everly and Maclyn will take me about 6.5 years if I do 1 chapter every day.”
But it’s become more than just a gift for his kids; God’s using it to strengthen McDermott’s own faith.
“What I’ve realized is that God was calling me to do this not just for my children, but for myself also,” he reflected. “What it has done is it has caused me to slow down and meditate on each and every word as I write them…no flying through chapters to complete a reading plan for the day. No quick study of cross references between old and New Testament. Just deliberate time in the words of God.”
“In a world that feels like it moves at a million miles per hour, this time has made everything slow down. I can feel the peace and the presence of the Lord as I sit with Him each day. What a great reminder this has been of how great our God is,” he added.
McDermott and his wife, Kennedy, have prayed that they would always “train up our children in the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not depart from it,” the former Memphis Grizzlies player wrote, referencing Proverbs 22:6.
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“I don’t know why I’m sharing this post…but it is on my heart that our families are our greatest mission field,” he declared. “I pray that God’s Word will transform the lives of our children the way it has transformed mine.”
In December, McDermott and his wife welcomed their second child, a son.
“Praise Jesus for Maclyn (Mac) Wade McDermott. We are in love & he is his big sister’s favorite person!” the couple wrote in a joint post.
Handwriting the Bible is a major undertaking, but McDermott knows his children will treasure it as God, even now, teaches him new things about Himself.
Read Next: Basketball Player Searched Every Religion Until He Found Jesus. Here’s What He Learned.
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