A Precious Treasure

My Gramma was a simple woman. She didn't have a need for material possessions and in the last 10 or so years of her life when we would ask her what she wanted for her birthday her response would be that she didn't want something she couldn't eat or wear. In other words, whatever we gave her had to be useful and not just take up space and be pointless clutter. When she passed away there were very few material possessions for my parents to go through. She had the minimum of what she needed as far as furniture and clothing and in the last number of years she actually started giving things back to the people who had given them to her. Almost like she was preparing for when she wasn't here anymore. And she just really didn't have any need for it. She lived simply and knew that her treasure was in heaven and not on earth. There was something though that she never gave up. Her Bibles. When I would go over there I would read to her from a Bible that had her and Grampa's names on the inscribed on the front. I just assumed that Bible was the one she had used for years. Until she passed away. My Mom gave me a Bible that she remembered Gramma using in the mornings for her personal devotions. I remember the devotional book she went through year after year but I didn't remember which Bible she used. How deeply grateful I am that my Mom gave this Bible to me.
I am one who underlines and writes things in my Bible all the time and know that if someone were to read through it they would be able to kind of figure out what I was struggling with or what God was showing me or the promises I was claiming.I have been reading through Gramma's Bible and she had underlined verses and written things down as well. A lot of what she wrote was just a year written next to a verse she had underlined. Some of them I was able to figure out what was happening in her life at the time, others I don't know. When I first started going through it I started with Job and Psalms and it was as if she had underlined and highlighted things just for me. Almost like a roadmap. I know she didn't purposefully sit down with me in mind and do that and that she was going through her own struggles when she underlined but God used it to speak to my heart. It has been such a good time of seeing who Gramma was in her private times with God and to see how she claimed His promises and clung to hope that is only found in Him. One of the things that has stuck out to me is how she at times would underline just a part of a verse or highlight a whole verse and then underline just certain words. It has made them come alive a little more for me and made me want to pay even more attention to the details in what I read. Here is an example. I will write the whole of the verse as we know it and then write just what she had underlined..."And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." Gramma's underlining simply says..."Seek, find, search, all your heart." It just breaks it down so well and tells you so simply what you must do...seek, find, search, all your heart. Again I see her simplicity in how she looked at things. There is a command in there, verbs, a direct explanation of what to do. Simple. To the point. I love it! 
Then there is Psalm 23 which we all know so well. Here is what Gramma underlined..."The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down; He leadeth me. He restoreth. He leadeth. For thou art with me; thy rod and they staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table. Anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." I love the section where she just has underlined...He leadeth me. He restoreth. He leadeth. Such a simple explanation of what He does.
It has been a balm for my heart in some ways to read through Gramma's Bible. I think I have teared up almost every time I have read it as I remember her. This morning I remembered listening to her pray and how humble she was. Never demanding. Just in humility bringing her requests before her Father.
I am thankful for this Bible but I am even more thankful for how God is speaking to my heart through the things Gramma has underlined. So many of the same verses are underlined and highlighted in my own Bible and I love how God's promises are for everyone! How He speaks to each of us where we are at and how, when we seek Him, we see Him more clearly and just want more of Him.
A precious treasure, that's what Gramma's Bible is to me, but I know it wouldn't be the same if it was just some novel or cookbook. This book was a source of life and strength and hope and peace and joy to her because the Lord she loved so much spoke to her through it. I feel blessed and privileged to see into her heart a little bit more and am so thankful that even in this she is still being an example. 

A Beautiful Day for Photos!

This week marks the two year anniversary of us being on the active waiting list for adoption. It is hard to believe that two years have gone by! In some ways it has flown by and in others it has been such a long wait. Of course we hoped to not see the two year mark, hoped we would have a baby before then, but apparently God has other plans. With it now being two years we had to redo our Intervention Records Check as well as our Criminal Records Check. We also decided that I would update our profile and have new copies made up.  So all afternoon today I worked on updating everything and we will send it to be printed this week. We need 6 copies done, I believe, and we want it to look professional, as our first one does.


Yesterday, in preparation for the updates I was doing today, we went to a park and took some photos. It was such a beautiful day! We had alot of fun and just enjoyed the sunshine and spending some special time together. I thought I would post a few of those photos here for those of you who don't have Facebook. Look at how dark my hair is! Yes, that is my natural color!