Why Mum stopped reading her Bible (and it isn't her faith)
Think about the last time you saw your mum or your nan read her Bible. Not flick through it on the way to church. Actually sit with it, the way she used to.
For a lot of families the answer is "I'm not sure." And it's rarely because her faith faded. It's usually something much smaller, and much harder to say out loud.
The print got smaller. The glasses stopped helping.
Difficulty reading small print is one of the most common vision changes after 60 (SBS). It's more widespread than most of us realise: around a third of older Australians live with low vision (The Conversation via Compass), and macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in Australians aged 65 and over (AIHW).
Bibles are some of the densest books ever printed. Thin pages, tiny type, two columns. So one day it just becomes easier to leave it closed on the bedside table.
She won't tell you it bothers her. She'll just say she's "not really reading much lately."
Why the Bible app didn't fix it
Most families try the obvious answer: a Bible app on her phone or tablet. And for a week or two it sort of works. Then the phone wants an update. The password's forgotten. The text is still small, the buttons are smaller, and a notification pops up halfway through Psalm 23.
Before long you get the phone call: the screen is "doing something weird" and she can't find it anymore. The app was never built for her. It was built for people who live on their phones.
What she actually needs
Not more technology. Less. Something that feels like the Bible she has always loved, that she can use without asking anyone for help:
- No apps, no wifi, no passwords
- Big buttons she can find by touch
- A clear voice reading the Word aloud
- Something she's proud to keep on her side table
That's why we made Hible
Hible looks like a small leather Bible. She opens the cover, presses play, and the whole Bible is read to her, chapter by chapter. Five simple buttons. A sleep timer for bedtime. It remembers where she stopped, so tomorrow morning she just presses play again.
No screens to figure out. No phone calls to you about the screen "doing something weird." Just her chair, her cup of tea, and the Word, back in her mornings.
It also happens to be one of the most meaningful gifts you can give for Mother's Day, a birthday, or just because.
The whole Bible, read aloud, inside a beautiful leather book. No apps. No passwords. Pre-orders open for the first batch, estimated dispatch April 2027.
See Hible →