Several years ago, after Uncle Bill died, his family gave us a Bible
We didn’t know it at the time but it was actually not an heirloom from his side or his wife’s side of the family
It actually belonged to his brother-in-law who happens to be my husband’s dad
This Bible has sat in our closet since then, the pages so tattered, there was no chance of getting it restored
But there is something about owning an old family Bible that warmed our hearts
Recently I began looking through the book
I don’t know what I was looking for, I mean I own plenty of well-made contemporary Bibles that I study regularly
The illustrations and the lessons contained in this particular version discovered, ancient and true – brought a richness of family history
Thumbing through the pages, I see that this Bible was given as a gi
ft to the new Mrs. Ella Virginia Hartley on December 20, 1893 in Washington, DC.
Now it sits in an air-conditioned suburban home in North Carolina, 2014 read by well, me!
The Bible might be antique
But the messenger is timeless
Those family members who read the Bible served the same God as we do 121 years later
Tucked in the pages
I don’t even know how it stayed so perfect
Was a four-leaf clover
A messenger of a different sort hid it away
How curious to find this
How symbolic to remember that God’s Word contains many undiscovered treasures if we would just open it and look.
Special thanks to Lisa Jo Baker’s Five Minute Friday writing prompt! I never know what I’m going to be writing about! Join us and see what it’s all about!
My Awesome Olive Shoots 
This makes me smile. I was recently given a huge family Bible when my grandmother went to be with Jesus, becasue noone else wanted it. Of course, I did but what blessed me more was that there were handwritten notes inside. Study notes from my grandparents, both of them. My grandfather left to be with Jesus long long ago when I was young and I have missed him nearly every day. Now that they are both in that heavenly host cheering us on, I rejoice that I have just a few reminders of their heart here passed on to me. And like you, I found a perfectly pressed red rose in the pages of the Bible in the book of John. Love. 🙂 It is such a treasure to find a message like that.
Blessings!
Loved everything about this post. What a gift! And what a heritage to have such a bible to look at!
I love the history of old family Bibles. I have my great Aunt’s Bible from the early 1900’s. I also love the reminder that God’s word contains many treasures as long as we take the time to look.