Found!

Found!

The oldest note in my dearest Bible was written in 1984. I can still remember where I was—and the circumstances in which I found myself—when I hastily scribbled it in the margin somewhere near Psalm 56. I discovered that touchstone again when that Bible, missing for more than seven years, was miraculously returned to me.

I’m not sure how, when, or where it was lost. One day I looked for it, and it was gone. Between three quick moves, a fire, and a burglary, I had no idea where it might be. And I mourned. I had bought it in my twenties—a slim, double-columned New American Standard that had been rebound when its original cover fell off. I seldom used it to study—it was too fragile. But I never meant to part with it.

Its front and back flyleaves held scores of handwritten notes, snippets of poetry and hymns, sermon points, and quotes from speakers. It recorded the history of my walk with God from early adulthood, and I missed it terribly.

So when I received a message through my website that said “I think I found your Bible in my company’s warehouse,” I was afraid to hope it might be this Bible. I asked no identifying questions. I simply contacted the sender—a man named Jack—and made arrangements to meet him at a construction warehouse not far from my home, then prepared myself to be disappointed. But I wasn’t.

Jack came walking toward me carrying my old, dear friend in one hand, and I somehow resisted the urge to dance with joy in the parking lot. He explained he’d found it sitting on top of a cabinet after he’d asked a crew to rearrange a corner of the warehouse. Inside it he found my name (and a twenty-year-old phone number). Then his wife recognized my name because she’d read a devotional I’d written. I’m not making this up. I couldn’t. Only God could swing this.

Now my old Bible is home. Found. And with every precious page I turn I hear its Author say, “Remember me. I have never forgotten you.”

Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Remember, LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.

Psalm 25:5-6, NIV