THE BLACK BOOK ON THE SHELF

Well, here I am again, filled with nostalgia and ready to set it out into the wild world of words which will somehow make their way into wavelengths. So I need to have a Part 1 and a Part 2 with the hope that I can combine them into something that may be of interest to you.

Part 1 comes from the reminder that is found in Revelations 22:10 which says:  "Don't seal the words of prophecy of this book; don't put it away on the shelf.  Time is just about up."  We did have a Bible in our house.  Except for perhaps at Christmas, however, it gathered dust on a shelf.  My memory is poor and my sisters still living may remember differently. But bible reading?  No, I cannot say it was often referred to, but it was always a reminder that God existed, and He was found in that book.

My knowledge of God, insufficient as it was, came from Masonic Orders.  I was a Job's Daughter until I graduated from Robbinsdale High School (in MPLS, MN).  Later, I joined Eastern Star with my mother before I was married. The bible stories they used in their ceremonies nurtured my soul and I became hungry to know more.  To be honest, I need to be accurate and tell you that I was trying to be  good and thought God's goodness would somehow be bestowed upon me.  I so wanted to be a good person.

Part 2 comes from a strange occurance  recently to come upon me.  My hair has become quite curly.  I had very curly hair when I was a little girl and at about 3 years old my baby sister, Shirley, was born.  When her hair came in curly,  and people began to remark about it, I became jealous and did something very "not good"!  I glued her curls onto her head.  This often repeated story as I was growing up put the exclamation mark upon my wanting to be a "good girl"!   Shirley kept her curly hair, and mine disappeared. Now, at the end part of my life, I look as if I've had a perm!  Crazy, huh?

Even if my time here on earth may be up soon, I trust God is in me and is able to make His goodness clear to those around me.  God is very real and the way I know that is I see His Face  through that "black book" which used to sit on the shelf gathering dust. Jerry, my husband, and I each have our favorite bibles which we read daily, reading the entire Bible each year and the New Testament twice a year. God is still in that book and now, Praise and Thanks to Him, He is in me..even in me with the curly hair!

Just call me Blessed!  Jo