Family Treasure

Yesterday my husband Tim & I visited my mom. Before we were ready to leave, she asked me if I wanted this old trunk full of books that she'd gotten from her uncle's estate. She took us into her bedroom to show it to us and after seeing the treasure contained within that trunk I said, Yes, I certainly wanted it! We didn't have room to bring it home with us yesterday so will have to get it at a future time, but I did bring home two of the books that had been in that trunk. What treasures they are to me! The first is a hardbound copy of the Bible printed in 1888 by the American Bible Society and with my great-great-grandfather's name written inside the front cover. It's in pretty good shape for being so old so I suspect it didn't see a lot of use, but there are a couple of interesting things tucked between the pages. There's a gospel tract titled, Have You Believed?, which clearly lays out that salvation is by faith in the Son of God. There's an old newspaper clipping of a letter-to-the-advice-columnist kind of thing seeking Biblical references for the evils of drunkenness (with references given). There's a poem about having courage. There's an old pressed carnation (at least I think that's what it is). There's a snippet of paper with a recipe written down for homemade silver polish. Then there are family record pages between the Old & New Testaments with the marriage of my great-great-grandfather recorded: "William H Wilding married to Elizabeth A Vine in the year 1870, Dec 24." Then there's a listing for their deaths: "William H Wilding died Feb 5, 1899 at 4 in the morning" and "Mrs Lizzie Wilding-Benedict died Jan 14th 1933 @ 2:30 o'clock, funeral Jan 17, 1933, Paul White, minister."

The second book is a leatherbound Bible, KJV published by Thomas Nelson & Sons, presented to Ida Wilding (my great-grandmother) by her father, William H Wilding, on June 20, 1898. This Bible is in pretty bad shape, with lots of the pages falling out and tattered, so I suspect it saw a lot of use. Again, it has lots of interesting things tucked between the pages. There are a couple more gospel tracts, the tip of a peacock's feather, some cherished momentos from children and grandchildren, a lock of someone's hair, a couple pieces of poetry, and an obituary for a 17 year old young lady that we think is the girl my great-uncle was going to marry, but then she died and he never did marry; he died a bachelor. My great-grandmother also recorded her birth, her husband's birth, their marriage, and the births of their 5 children, which includes my maternal grandmother. This Bible is also most interesting because of all the Bible study helps contained in the back of the book: The Illustrated Bible Treasury.

Looking through these two family treasures fills me with awe. Since I am the only believer in my birth family, though my mother and siblings have some religious understanding, I am encouraged to think that perhaps if I could go back a generation or two I would find that my forebears were people of strong faith in the LORD. Makes me also wonder about my father's family tree, if they were people of faith.

It also makes me stop and think about the spiritual legacy that I am building to leave for my children, grandchildren and beyond, should the LORD tarry that long. When my grandchildren look in my Bible after I am gone, what will they find? I believe that they'll find ample evidence of my faith in the LORD. My Bible is underlined, highlighted, with margin notes, with poetry copied onto pages, with words of wisdom written on blank pages, etc. Maybe I will even write a short letter to my descendants to leave behind with my Bible, expressing my hopes and prayers for them to follow the LORD with all their hearts and to be people of faith. Interesting possibilities!

So what will your Bible say about you and your faith in the Son of God, should you die and your Bible ends up in the hands of a great-grandchild some day? Will it just be another carefully preserved book or will it bear testimony to your love for the Master and His Word, of your faith in Him? Think about it!