Another Man’s Treasure

It is time to sell grandma’s house. She no longer can live on her own. Family members have been through the house to take home what tokens mean the most to them. Now in the very caring hands of a granddaughter and her home and hearth, grandma has only the things there that she needs.

Texas mom came up here to the PNW to help her brothers finish going through boxes and make some final decisions about their mother’s estate. Mom brought us something from grandma’s house she thought we might enjoy. She chose considerately. Texas mom brought us her grandparent’s Bibles. Published in 1946, but gifted, by inscription, nearly ten years later by one of their daughters, Texas mom’s aunt, grandma’s older sister (still with me?). Though not heavily worn on the outside, the contents prove the godly heritage imparted to us, through Mike’s maternal ancestry. The girls have already taken to them as their own Bibles and have begun reading in them.

Honored we are, to have received such a treasure.

Thumbing through the Bibles, one belonging to Walter, the other to Lillie, we found old photos, hand written notes, family records and yellowed newspaper articles; history, as it were, in our very hands. Along the pages were inked references and annotations. Among the pages are prayer cards and tracts from multiple western states, their cities and of different denominations.

The markings in and alongside the leaves of scripture are diverse. Each great-grandparent exercised their Bible; you can see by the variation of scrawls and symbols, circled scripture cues, written in their own hand. The very nature of the pamphlets and handouts from various missionaries and Bible societies, tell our little family of how much these great-grandparents of ours valued their salvation. They honored the sacrifice made on the cross.

Yet there has to be more. There can be no relying on ancestry for our ticket into heaven. While at present, it is the responsibility of Mike and I, to teach our children to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, and strength, at some point that responsibility rests also (also, I say, for we do not relinquish responsibility for their independence) on their shoulders to obey their parents in the Lord and walk in righteousness to stand before God on their own.

It is a treasure to have these beautiful Bibles in our household. Nonetheless, in the words of a favorite Christmas song we have been humming during the last several weeks,
My precious Jesus is more than an heirloom to me