“Turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 2:1-10.” Typically the sound of pages fluttering would fill the room. However, silence filled this small church. The group of women meeting at the Konoweka Orphans and Widows Hut are learning about entering God’s presence thanks to a set of Bible study guides donated for their use. Unfortunately, they cannot turn to the Bible verse because most don’t have a Bible where they can meet with and learn about God.
The loving folks at Beaverdam Baptist Church felt led to collect and send Bibles for these ladies and wow did they ever send Bibles. Five huge boxes arrived; each box carefully stuffed with Bibles, bookmarks, and personal notes to the ladies. I just got a message that six more boxes are on their way. What an amazing gift!
I explained to the women that these Bibles appear well-worn. In some of the Bibles the leather was cracked, the pages were written in, or the paper turned yellow. We talked about what the gift of heavily used Bibles really means. People in the United States tend to keep their Bible for a long time. They write in it, pray from it, and sometimes carry it wherever they go. They record their names, births, deaths, and other important events. These books are not just any books. What all this Bible wear means is that the most treasured items were sacrificed just for them. These Bibles had owners, they have histories, they have life.
The women debated over who would get which Bible – some loved the KJV translation, some needed the larger print, others wanted the blue Bible whose specific history was known. They hugged these Bibles to their chests like they were defending a football.
Yea God! Thank you for putting all these people in my life – Konoweka and Beaverdam.