My Favorite Things - My Bible

True story about this Bible...

I was on the beach in Manzanillo, Mexico. This was during the time I was living in Guadalajara and a group of us had traveled to the beach for a couple of weeks. The resort there is absolutely beautiful. One morning I woke up early to catch the cool crispness of the breeze and the crashing of the waves into the shore. I was wrapped in a blanket and sipping coffee while reading my Bible.

This Bible is my favorite since 1985 when I was 15 years old. My parents bought it for me to celebrate the fact that I had finished reading my entire Bible from Genesis through Revelation. My name was printed on it (although you can no longer see it). I used this Bible in college and later years and when I lived in Mexico, I carried it with me wherever I traveled. I also had a Spanish Bible, but this one reminded me of home.

Well, I was on the beach. It was a windy morning and the waves were growing. I looked up and noticed a really big wave coming and wondered if I was far enough from the water to be safe. I was not. That big wave grabbed my coffee, my blanket and my Bible and took them all away into the sea. I could not believe how upset I was. I cried out, "God, please bring me back my Bible!"

Suddenly another big wave came in and brought my Bible straight to my arms. It was drenched and filled with sand, but it had come back to me in a wave just like it had left me in a wave. Over the years, most of the sand has gone. That was 1992. Some of the pages are a total mess and once in a while, I will find a small grain of sand stuck in there. Most days when I read the Bible, I read it on my app or online. But nothing brings me more comfort than reading from this Bible, my precious gift given to me by my mom and dad in 1985, taken from me by a wave in 1992, but graciously returned by my Father in Heaven when I cried out for it.

In my most difficult times in life, this Bible is my constant companion. Over these last few weeks, it has given me the strength I need to breathe. Thank God for my Bible, the SWORD that fights for me every moment.