The Illuminating Book Tree

Today I have been deep in a pile of books - writing one of three essays due for my 'How to Study Local History' course on the 23rd January. It has only taken 11 hours but that is it sent off now to my tutor in Inverness.  Before you feel sorry for me, it was no great hardship - I love books and I love writing about family history research.

Books have always been a great joy. Christmases and birthdays were made even more special if at least one of the packages was a hard rectangle shape aka 'A Book'!!

What a wealth of knowledge, inspiration, guidance, escapism, emotion etc has poured out of pages in front of me over the years. My favourites are too many to mention.

But, I will never forget the years when the Bible first impacted into my life. Sure, I had heard about it and dipped into it throughout childhood and teen years but that was all. It wasn't until my late twenties that the words came alive and started to intersect with my life. The power of them was unmistakable. For me it is a living word. I can return to familiar passages and find they say new things to me as the cross my life at a different point today.

The power of such words is eternal and like the Christmas book tree above can provided illumination in all corners of our lives.

The Sifting of Words

The book 'A Life for a Life' was written by Dinah Maria Mulock Craik (pictured right) is not one you come across everyday. In fact, it was published in 1859. She herself considered it to be her best work. Although very old, it is now available courtesy of the British Library who have worked alongside Microsoft to digitise around 65,000 of its 19th Century books.

I came across this book earlier this evening when I was looking up one of my favourite poems. Rather, what I thought was a poem. The 'poem' turns out to be a quotation from Dinah's book.

It is a favourite reading of my friend Pauline and I. For it speaks of a relationship between friends that is safe,  honest and full of trust. It goes like this:-

"But oh! the blessing it is to have a friend to whom one can speak fearlessly on any subject; 

with whom one's deepest as well as one's most foolish thoughts come out simply and safely.

Oh, the comfort - the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person -

having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, 

but pouring them all right out, 

just as they are, chaff and grain together; 

certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, 

keep what is worth keeping, 

and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away."

What a blessing indeed and surely one of God's greatest gifts.