Visiting the farm was always fascinating, and a treat. Especially alluring was the Library, and she loved tiptoeing inside for it was filled with the books of a lifetime. Books lined the four walls, books sat stacked floor to ceiling, even along the floorboards. Besides these treasures Great Grandfather owned stuffed birds and small animals, encased in glass. These last were her especial favorites, and she ventured inside to stare at them whenever visiting. There, she could be alone to peruse everything at her leisure.
Great Grandfather's name was Jeremiah. He had a son named James, who had a son named Isaac, who was her father. It was the year 1930 and strange things had begun to happen in her world, something about stock markets and crashes and who knew what else. She was not yet sure about the nature of these worries, but grownup conversations were suddenly focussed and rather grim. She liked being with her grandmother in the kitchen, but when they began to talk, she quietly climbed the stairs, crept into the Library, and lost herself among the books.
On one such day the girl came upon an odd looking and dusty volume. She slowly pulled it out to see what it looked like. The front cover seemed to portray an image of doom, but she thought she would look inside to be sure. The book, as she opened it, emitted a strange odor she did not like. As she looked at the photos (and there were a lot of photos), she tried to understand the words that explained them. The smell continued to build the more she read, until finally she closed the book with a thump.
She went back down the stairs, but the aroma of that book seemed to follow.
Over the weeks and months, the little girl went back to Dante's Inferno, intrigued but alarmed. She knew what the photos were saying, how they interpreted Hell to all who chose not God. They were striking, and stayed with her - rather like that strange odor.
They stayed with her as the months turned to years, as Crash became Depression, and as her parents struggled to provide. In time there was high school, there was work, and marriage. And then, amidst the busy-ness of farming and children, she heard and learned that to choose God was to trust Him, and to run to Him. Kind people came and showed this Grace of Christ, and the remembered photos and words of Dante gained context.
She soon learned that there was more to Dante's story than Inferno: Paradiso! Heaven, freely chosen. People very often read only the first part, and forget to keep on going.
My mother (for that is who this little girl is) did keep on going. She says Inferno served its purpose, but that now her eyes are, and forever will be, fixed on Paradise.
See you along the Way!
the SconeLady
Philippians 3:20-21 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Read more: http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/bible-verses-about-heaven-15-scripture-quotes/#ixzz35F62G49t
Read more: http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/bible-verses-about-heaven-15-scripture-quotes/#ixzz35F62G49t
photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vlogdan/3694111771/">Reeding</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a>
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