This Bible is very special to me. It was a gift my big brother, Clay, who brought it to me after his trip home from Congo, Africa, where he had served a two year term with PAX MCC in the late 1960's. He was able to spend a brief amount of time in Israel, so besides a very 'cool' elephant hair bracelet he brought from Congo, he also purchased this Bible from Bethlehem for his little sister. (I was 8 or 9 years old at that time)
This Bible was truly one of the most beautiful things I owned! Not only were the mother-of-pearl engravings on the cover exquisite, but the color photographs of the land of Israel and Egypt were windows into the land of the Bible, itself. My imagination would soar as I carefully turned the pages and gazed at another world that I longed to see some far away day in my future.
The Bible was carefully stored in my 'treasure box'. Sometimes I would pull it out of my drawer and look at it, open the cover, and look at the photos. I also loved looking up familiar verses in it, especially the story of the first Christmas. The King James version it contained was the version I had memorized many verses as a child, so there was the joy of opening familiar words within the beautiful covers of this particular Bible.
Years later, I handed my Bible to a florist to design a bridal bouquet that would be placed upon the special Bible for our wedding day!
In the years since, I have lovingly placed this Bible near our family Advent wreath each Christmas, sometimes even reading the Christmas story from it before our gifts are given to each other.
Now, this weekend marks my final preparations for the trip my heart has longed to take, a trip to Israel for 10 days. The beautiful connection that makes this more than a fulfillment of the dreams of an 8 year old is the fact that this trip is all about the Bible. This Bible will not be on the trip with me. My Bible will now be carried on a Kindle. However, this trip will be a pilgrimage with others who have a love for the Bible. I will be with a group from the Daily Audio Bible ministry. This group will be made up of others, who like myself, have come to embrace daily interaction with God's Word through the vehicle of a podcast read by Brian Hardin.
So, the thrill of the trip to Israel begins with the love of His Word, and in my case, a very special Bible from my childhood. I don't know what to expect specifically, but in whole, I am praying for a time that will provide a richer context of location, terrain, and history for me, in my study of and reading of the Bible. I anticipate hearing teaching 'on site', walking the land, and seeing the sights that Jesus may have seen when He walked here among men. "The Journey is the Destination"!
2 comments:
May you be strengthened and established during this trip, Bonnie. Hugs to you... go with grace!
As I awoke this morning in Texas, my first thought was of you being in Israel. I have been looking at the pictures in my Bible from Clay and imagining you walking on those paths. May God's peace be with you and the group, my dear sister.
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