585 A Time to Relax and Contemplate  

KEY SCRIPTURE Psalm 55: 16-17

As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.

RELEVANCE

At this time of year, many families have packed up their car and caravan or tent and trailer, thrown the kids in the back, and headed to the coast or some favourite destination to enjoy the short holiday they've earned. And they have a ball! For a few years, we used to take the van to Indented Head, where other holiday-makers were wonderful, and their kids were as well-behaved as kids should be when on holidays. It was great fun, and we loved it.

But this year, I'm Spring-cleaning my shed while Heather paints her new sewing room.

While going through some old books, I found a cardboard box full of ancient Bibles—you know the type, leather King James Versions—some over 100 years old. Now, to show respect, I had to find a comfortable chair in the shed and go through them all. I don't know about you, but when I find old books, I can get lost for hours in the history and writings.

I found one Bible, a smaller red leather model, that my eldest sister, Lael, gave our Mum for Mother's Day, May 13th 1956!! (Believe it or not). "To Mummy, Wishing you every happiness. With lots of love and best wishes, from Lael"

Then there is a black leather Scofield Bible that two of my uncles gave my Grandfather. "To Dad, with best wishes from John and Alan, 5.6.51.

There were two more Bibles owned by my Grandfather and Grandmother—one of them complete with historical family records. What a bonus.

To add to that, I pulled these off my shelf.

• The Life of Christ by Frederic Farrar, 1892 (At one stage, he was Chaplain to Queen Victoria)

• The Extent of the Atonement, by Thomas W Jenkyn, 1842.

• Die Bibel, (German. Pronounced Dee Beeble), 1860. When I bought this in the 1980s, the seller said it belonged to his grandmother and was carried up and down into the house cellar during the bombings of Berlin in WWII.

• A huge Foxes Book of Martyrs, 1873, with brass clips and all. This book recorded the slaughter and torture of the protestants during the inquisitions.

I began collecting old books and Bibles in the 1980s and have some nice oldies, but now is the time to thin out my collection. Sigh!

This year, I may not have gone on a holiday as such. But the blessings I've received so far by staying home have equalled what I may have missed out on. To cap it off, my mate who dined with us on Christmas Day bought me a book of maps of Israel. But this one is different because the maps are taken from satellites, showing the exact contours of the land and town and city locations.

PRAYER