There once was a little bookstore tucked among a small cluster of shops in the south end of town. Treasures were there and over the years I found a few of them lining the shelves. Poets and pastors; maps and manuscripts; leather-bound gems; golf-leaf pages bursting with inspiration, words lingering from days gone by. Some of these volumes seemed sacred, and I would carefully turn the well-read and sometimes frayed pages.
I loved the fading inscriptions I would discover, often penned in thick, scrolled, sweeping strokes. Those who wrote them were like me, a lover of words. I wish I could have known them – W.L. Perkins, Bristol, England May 27, 1846; Aaron Davis Field Jr., Dorchester, Mass., January 1, 1842; Thomas Sheppard, Christmas, 1894; Hannah Smith, 1865.
It was a happy place for me. I could spend hours looking, browsing. And every once in awhile a Find…at least for me. An 1804 edition of “Writings of Francis Fenelon,” who in the 17th century penned some of the most insightful and deeply spiritual truths ever written. And “When the Birds Go North Again” a beautiful collection of poems and sonnets by Ella Higginson, published in New York in 1899.
Here is one of Higginson’s poems I’d like to share with you entitled “Storm”
The rain was blown in blinding sheets, that swept
The rattling windows and quaking door.
Up the rock cliffs along the rugged shore
The oceans waves, like hungry wild beasts, leapt,
And fell, and leapt again, and fell, then crept
Back, conquered, sobbing, down the tide’s black floor.
The gusts of wind swelled to a strong, hoarse roar,
Or shrieked about the lonely eaves, and kept
A weird tune shrilling in the chimney’s throat.
So raged the storm…till night wore into day
Bringing a peaceful glow to east and west,
A wide, calm sea; a lull; a bird’s glad note,
And spent winds resting…So, dear God I pray,
After life’s feverish passions, rest, sweet rest.
“Old books exert a strange fascination for me — their smell, their feel, their history; wondering who might have owned them, how they lived, what they felt.”
― Lauren Willig
Prayer Needs This Week…
- Full recovery for Tim, Coy and Justice Wilson from a terrible nine-car accident they were in last week; Tim’s back is broken, both boys a concussion, and Coy internal bruising
- Sally Ellis and her family over the passing of her mom Harriet last night
- Deb DeSimone’s husband Lou recovering from brain surgery yesterday, stroke
- Safe return for Jeff, Chuck and Tom from their Maldives surf trip
- Troy – recovery from a hospital procedure yesterday
- A good, strong finish to all the artists in the summer festivals
- Mike Montgomery, former pastor of our church, struggling with illness
- Karen – broken femur; immune deficiency issue
- Pray for the person who wrote this card: “I want to be fascinated with God.”
Country to Pray For: Vietnam, where a major move of God is taking place; an underground church is spreading like wildfire; many house churches are arising; since the war ended in 1975 Christians now number 1.57 million, a tenfold increase; Persecution from the Communist government still exists.
A Scripture For You: “The Mighty One, God, the Lord, has spoken, and summoned the earth, from the rising of the sun to its setting. Out of Zion comes the perfection of beauty, God has shone forth.” – Psalm 50:1,2
May the God of all power strengthen your heart and soul this week.
Pastor Jay