What You Can Learn From Someone’s Bible
From the Archives of Granny’s Devotions
Every now and then, I come across one of my old writings that still stops me in my tracks. This is one of those. I wrote it years ago, shortly after my Granny passed in 2010, and it remains one of the most important things I've ever put to paper. I haven’t changed a word—because those words came from a place of fresh grief, deep love, and a holy kind of remembering.
If you’ve ever loved someone who walked closely with the Lord, I think this one will sit with you a while.
In the days after December 6th, 2010 when I lost my Granny at the ripe age of 79, I found great comfort in her Bible that Mama brought to me. Granny, like a lot of us, didn't pick up a Bible very much in her younger years. Life got her busy and distracted. It was after the loss of her husband way too early in '92, ill health, and loss of her independence that she really started drawing close to the Lord. I mean she got serious about it. I had wondered if she really studied as much as it sounded like she was because when I'd see her she was reading it, and when I called her, she was reading it, but I wondered....until I saw it. It's held together by tape, and then I knew. She dated it every time she read it all the way through. She was over half way on her third time reading it completely through when she died.
I found comfort in running my fingers over the wrinkled tape on the front cover as I imagined her doing day after day. She didn't like wrinkles in anything and was always smoothing things down. So I can imagine her running her sweet little finger of this ruffle in the tape every time I do it. I also found comfort in the bookmark that was exactly where she left it the last time her eyes read it. I was hoping for some dramatic verse that would leap off the page at me and scream words of wisdom or give me some new dedicated path for my life, but it wasn't exactly like that. Her bookmark was in between the end of Chapter 33 in Ezekiel and the beginning of Chapter 34. Although nothing screamed wisdom and direction to me at the time, now when I look back on it, I see that it truly is a beautiful piece of the Bible with some of the most important messages in it.
Worn, taped, and treasured — this Bible held together more than just pages. It held a lifetime of faith, a quiet wisdom, and a legacy I still carry today.
In Ezekiel 33, Ezekiel spoke about all the people who whined and complained about life being so unfair and going so far as to say the Lord's not fair either. Ezekiel reminded them that they weren't fair either. What in their actions had they done to be worthy of fair treatment? When we live a sinful life, why would we expect anything less than consequences of that sin? I think that's pretty popular still today. In 34, Ezekiel spoke about shepherds who are over the people and how basically they sing a beautiful tune, but when it comes down to behind the scenes, they aren't genuine. There's a lot of that going on too. Just because someone says they are men or women of God doesn't make it so. I can say I'm Asian all day long, but it doesn't make it true.
Ezekiel tells us how the Lord is our true shepherd and how He will leave the flock to find the ones who have strayed away. Praise God! He will feed them (with the Word), give them a home (with Him in Heaven) and give them peace (by way of the Holy Spirit). So when we think that we aren't rich, we're only looking with our worldly eyes at this temporary home we've been given. Someone who sticks close to the Lord knows that their true wealth lies in being part of the Father and His kingdom.
There were times that I started thinking Granny wasn't as sharp as she once was. If you knew her, you know she didn't miss a beat. She would say she was forgetful, but that may only pertain to where she left her glasses. She didn't miss a beat with what was going on around her. I now realize that she wasn't dwindling at all. As I've read through her Bible and taken great notice of the verses she found important enough to circle or mark, I've seen that she was growing wiser and wiser every day. Her silence that I had mistaken for not fully understanding what was happening around her was, on the contrary, the way she had learned from our Father how to respond to certain things....in silence. Keep silent about things that will not bring glory or honor to our Father. Trust that the Lord will work things out and take care of people. We should just love them. Period. End of story. Wow!! I wish I could've known that earlier. All the years I tried to "fix" someone. And she did too in her day. I wondered how such an outspoken spit-fire of a woman could've become so quiet. I know now that's only something we can do when we're walking hand in hand with the Lord.
Granny found lots of wisdom in Proverbs as well, and I'm going to start posting a verse from Proverbs daily so we'll all have a dose of that wisdom. Finally though, the most important verse for Granny, or at least as it seems to me because she had exclamation points lined up behind it, was found in Ecclesiastes 12:13 and 14 that says Here is my final conclusion: fear God and obey His commandments, for this is the entire duty of man. For God will judge us for everything we do, including every hidden thing, good or bad. Yes, that pretty much sums it up. Our final conclusion should be to fear and obey God. You can't fear and obey Him unless you love Him first, so that's a given. And finally, God will judge what we do. That's not a bad thing. For those of us who have been forgiven our sins, He will not see our sins. But for those of us who try really hard to do right by the eyes of God and wonder if our time will ever come, yes it will. Our Father will reward us for those things that we do in His name, even though no one else sees it. And who better than to get a well done from than God Himself?
Finally, I see that family meant the world to Granny. She had beautiful bookmarks from her daughter marking her pages, notes from her great-grandchildren wishing her to get well soon from years ago, pages marked with dates showing she was reading Psalms along with her son who couldn't be with her. And finally, this precious book ended up in my hands. I cannot think of a better gift she could have given me as she left this world.
Even though my heart breaks for her daily because I cannot have my 10:00 A.M. talk and words of wisdom, comfort and love from her, I hold steady to the promises she held tightly too as well. A promise that as much as we love those around us, it's not comparable to the love our Father has for us. If we will stay close to Him and give Him every area of our life, He is faithful to honor us with peace, blessings, mercy, and Himself. Now I realize Granny was even wiser than I ever could have imagined.
I plan to live the rest of my life like she did. Being as quiet as I can when it comes to judgment of others because it's truly not my place. Being loud when it comes to letting people know how much I love them and cherish them. Being close to the Lord and listening to His word as He shows me His promises for my family, my friends, and myself, and spreading that word to those who think there is no hope in this world.
I love you Granny. You were a light in this world, and even though you're gone, your flicker still remains in our hearts and will be passed down for generations to come. God bless you and hold you.
