Oct
8
2021
Dreaming Of A Library
Posted in Bible 5 Comments
I’m running out of room.
It’s not that our house isn’t large enough.
We have plenty of room for our family.
My books are causing the problem.
Currently, we have nine large bookcases in our house.
The four bookcases downstairs are the ones I use the most.
They are overflowing.
I don’t know what to do about it.
My husband bought me a Kindle a while ago.
I appreciated the gift, but I don’t like to read books that way.
I think he thought I would grow to like e-books like he does.
That never happened.
No one would ever want my books.
My books are quite loved.
They are underlined with notes in the margins.
I know where to find things in those books, but to someone else, they appear messy.
I often giggle that my books would get a horrible rating if they were ever sold as used.
They are the kind of books I avoid, when I purchase used books.
However, these books are mine.
My notations are proof of ownership.
As more books were bought or given to me, I had to resort to laying them on their side.
They lay on top of the other books that are placed vertically on the shelf.
I didn’t mind that so much until even that placement didn’t work any more.
I have books in front of the vertical books, which I have to move if I need a book behind them.
I look at those downstairs shelves and smile.
A lifetime of books.
A lifetime of study.
A lifetime of collecting and finding books in obscure places.
My husband knows my dream.
I would like to have a library.
I would like to turn the lovely cranberry walls in our living room into floor to ceiling shelves.
My husband says he could build them for me.
I know he can.
There is always a “but” not out of unwillingness, but out of practicality.
It is our Christmas room, the room where we have our tree each year.
It is our music room, which is the home of my grand piano.
It is the room that has two lovely doors that go out to our side porch.
There are too many non-continuous walls, he says with his engineer/craftsman brain.
He would have to build around the two doors.
He would have to build around the two long windows.
If anyone could do it, he could.
I could easily be Belle from Beauty and the Beast.
I could easily climb up a library ladder and slide along the wall to choose the perfect book.
Except, I’m not Belle.
Except, we have too many non-continuous walls.
In the meantime, my bookshelves are overflowing.
How I wish I had a study of my own.
How I wish I had a long library table for writing and a comfy chair for reading.
How I wish that study had walls of bookshelves all around me.
A girl can dream.
Some women want clothes and jewelry and fancy things.
I want bookshelves, books, a library table and a comfy chair.
Simplicity?
Bookish-ness, more likely.
You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me. (C.S. Lewis)
It is a fine thing to dream.
It is even nicer when that dream becomes a reality.
It is fine to wait for something.
It is not fine to grumble as you wait.
I’m not grumbling.
I admit I’m longing a bit.
I mentally take stock of our house and think of where I can possibly have my study.
Maybe someday…
Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. (John 21:25)
If I’m running out of room for my books, imagine the shelves needed for books about Jesus?
The apostle, John, talks about the world not having enough room for all the books about Him.
The Bible tells us about the things that Jesus did while He walked on earth.
There were more things that, if written down, would be contained in books too many too count.
Can you imagine the appearance of those bookshelves?
Vertically placed books, horizontally placed books, and books in front of books.
My bookshelves would be empty by comparison.
No amount of books can possibly contain everything that Jesus said and did.
The One who was, and is, and is to come cannot be contained.
The grave could not hold Him.
Death had no victory over Him.
No amount of books can hold His Majesty.
Amen!
I know how you feel, Gina–I like books I can hold on my lap, underline if I wish. Kindle just wouldn’t do. Could you turn one of your bedrooms into a library? That would be a nice retreat!
Sue, right now the bedrooms are all used when family comes home.
One bedroom is the grandchild room.
My dream library may have to be modified a bit.
We shall see…
Gina
Plus on line I can buy those e-books on average 1.99 plus tax.
You really should try a Kindle Fire. id you know you can use 4 different colors to highlight the parts you like? Make comments as notes I love my Kindle Fire!
It can tell you what page you’re on out of the total pages. Plug in if needed as you read – lasts a long time .
Thanks, Janna.
It is something to think about.
I’m just a “hold a book in my hand” kind of girl.
Blessings,
Gina