A few weeks ago, I was walking with some friends and their dogs and we happened to look in the windows of a charity shop. I came across a beautiful walnut bookcase with glass doors which stopped me in my tracks. I went inside and ten minutes later was the proud owner of the case. It’s something that was on Sam and my “house wish list” of things that we’d aim to get in the next 5 years perhaps, but there it was, so we took our opportunity.
Then came the very enjoyable job for me of organising our books to redistribute them into different cases. One of the first, and easiest, sets to place was a collection of Children’s Encyclopaedia that my grandfather gave to me many years ago. We now have a shelf full of what I found myself calling “old Bibles”, which have come from a collection of places, some from my grandfather, and some from Sam and my homes.
I’m fairly certain that the Bibles in our home that will be the ones that we pick up more often will be those that were printed more recently. Regardless, I love our “old Bible” shelf, which also contains a few Daily Lights, and a Book of Common Prayer. They all have so much backstory to them, and are a way that for me, I feel connected to my ancestors. Whilst writing this, I took the time to read the messages in the front of each Bible, which gave me an indication of who they were given to and when – the oldest being over one hundred years old. Not only have they come from my grandfather and grandmother, but a Great-Great Aunt among others. Some have been very clearly used often, and some have markings in, underlining particular verses, or annotating notes alongside the text. I know that there are mixed feelings about writing in Bibles, I have one in which I have sections underlined, so was fascinated to see that my grandmother had done the same, neatly writing notes to provide context and interpretations of sections of text.
By far the newest on the shelf was given to me on the date of my baptism in 2009. Sam and I also discovered we were both given The Lion Children’s Bible when we were born, and I’m sure we can both recall some of the stories and pictures from it. Most have been gifted at particular points in life, all with a message of love in the front. They provide a source of strength, comfort, and guidance to the reader, a powerful gift from one Christian to another. Not only does the text inside have passages inside that can be referred to for all kinds of scenarios, but the unspoken gift of encouragement and support is one of the most valuable gifts to give.
We always hope to be able to give support to our loved ones, but there are inevitably situations in which we are unable to provide the answers, so to be able to provide others with the materials to seek those answers when needed, we’re giving some vital tools instead.
Our “old Bibles” shelf and our bookshelf of newer Bibles and reference books are both lovely things to have in our home, and are something I’m proud of, but they’re very little use if all they do is sit on a shelf and look pretty. There aren’t many books on our shelves that I find myself reading over and over but I know that the only way for me to keep growing in my faith is to not be afraid to go back to passages in the Bible, whether they are ones I find easy to digest or not.
A prayer:
Creator God, thank you for giving us scriptures which we can utilise in all situations. Help us to seek your guidance to fully understand your words to guide us. Thank you for the gift of hope that we can give to others through sharing your words. Amen.