Not long ago I asked my children if there was anything of mine that they would want to have if I were wiped out in a car accident or something. I know...I have a morbid sense of humor or reality or whatever you want to call it; but I wanted to know. My oldest daughter said that the 2 things she would have wanted were my old Donald Duck sweatshirt which I used to wear all the time and some old pink baseball cap that I wore during her formidable years. Unfortunately, both have been thrown out long ago. Had I known, I would have saved them.
When my father passed away, my mom gave each of "the boys" of few of Dad's items. In addition, she asked if there was anything else of his that I wanted. I told her that I would like to have his Bible and nothing else.
When I was growing up, his Bible sat on a small table next to his chair. I remember that each morning he would open the Bible and have his morning time with God. It was with that Bible he taught Sunday School to the Young Adult Group at Mapleside United Methodist. He carried it with him to the Saturday morning prayer breakfasts that we attended together. In his later years, he suffered several massive strokes which made it impossible for him to read from the Good Book that had meant so much to him. And yet, his Bible remained close to him on the table next to his chair. I think the mere sight of it reminded him that even though his world was in turmoil, God was still in control.
In the months prior to his death, I took his Bible to the hospital and read some of his favorite passages to him. At his funeral, I re-read some of those same passages from his Bible one more time as I eulogized the man who meant more to me than life itself. By the way, those passages were easy to find...he had underlined or highlighted each of them and then wrote comments about each passage in the margins.
So my mom went to table next to his chair and handed me his Bible. As she placed it in my hand, I was reminded of the first time I held it in my hand... August 9, 1977, the night he told me how to receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. I can remember reading," for by grace are you saved through faith..."
I kept his Bible out on a table at our house for the longest time but now it resides safely tucked away in a box in our basement with some other treasures. But the memories of that Bible and the man who placed his faith and trust in it reside with me still, and for that, I am a better man.
Be Well.
Bill
