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Little Rock Connections: The Good News for Today
September 2019

My life is a trail of Bible


My Life in Bibles
Amy Ekeh

Our new director reflects on how the Bibles she has owned have marked time and shaped her life.

 

It recently occurred to me that my life is a trail of Bibles. From my first Bible to the most recent addition, each one marks a stage in my life. I’d like to tell you about a few of them.

When I was a child, my godparents gave me two books: a small children’s Bible correctly titled My First Bible and the incredible Noah’s Ark by artist Peter Spier. At that young age, it was the pictures that inspired me more than the words: blocky pictures of Adam and Eve conversing with a giant purple snake, Moses waving his arms before a burning bush, David defeating Goliath with ease, Jesus calling some skinny fishermen. And as I looked through Peter Spier’s picture book, although I didn’t realize it at the time, I was beginning to ask myself questions about the Bible: Why were people so evil? How could God let this flood kill so many people and animals? Has this new beginning changed anything?

The next Bible I remember is my mom’s RSV Study Bible that she used while I was growing up. I remember it had underlined sections and her own handwriting in the margins. That’s when I realized that the Bible could be studied—and written in! It wasn’t just a book to put on a shelf or read at church. And I remember my dad reading a passage to me from that Bible. I think I must have asked him what God looks like, so he read me Revelation 1:12-18. That certainly got my attention!

When I was in second grade, my family was attending a Presbyterian Church. My Sunday School teacher gave all of her students Good News Bibles. I loved that Bible. Again the illustrations drew me in and left indelible images in my mind and on my heart. I saw King Solomon wisely arbitrating between two feuding women, and the stoning of Stephen may as well have played out before my eyes. I used to sit through church services matching up the little pictures across the tops of the pages in Proverbs with the correct verses below.

When I was a teenager, my mom knew I was interested in Scripture, and she wanted me to know how beautiful it can be. She bought me a pretty rose-colored Bible in the King James Version. This one had ribbons! Everything about that Bible was beautiful, and the Word of God was poetry.

As a college student, when I decided to study theology, I purchased an NRSV study Bible that was required for my course in Pentateuch. That red hardcover Bible became my companion in the years that followed as I took every Scripture course I could. Now I too had a Bible with notes in the margins! I still treasure that Bible and all I learned within it.

A few years ago, I had a wonderful class of adult students in a New Testament course I was teaching. One of my students gave me a Bible. “It’s for your collection,” he said. Several weeks later, Ray died unexpectedly. What would have been “just another Bible” is now an item of great value to me: a gift from a student I look forward to seeing again.

In the fall of that same year, I gave a retreat down in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Cackie Upchurch gave me a Little Rock Catholic Study Bible. I look back on that moment in the Little Rock Scripture Study store room as highly symbolic, and now I use that Bible almost every day. And I’m so proud to be a part of Little Rock Scripture Study.

The trail of Bibles in my life will continue. And as you who are reading this know, it isn’t really about amassing a collection or having books to look at and touch. As much as I love every page of every single one of these books, the living Word is written on my heart, and in the memories and ideas of my mind, and in the people who are a part of this trail. This is what makes the Bible different from any other book I’ve ever read: a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Ps 119:105).

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Do you have a special Bible? Have Bibles you have owned shaped you as a person or marked a special time in your life? We’d enjoy hearing from you! You can reply to this email, or if viewing on Facebook, leave a comment below.

Announcements:

Amy EkehWelcome, Amy! Welcome to the new director of Little Rock Scripture Study, Amy Ekeh. Amy studied theology at the University of Dallas and The Catholic University of America. She is an instructor in the Hartford Catholic Biblical School, a retreat director, and is the author of several books (including one of the most recent titles in our Alive in the Word series: Finding Peace, Letting Go of Stress and Worry). Amy is passionate about helping people encounter and be transformed by God’s Word. You can reach Amy at aekeh001@litpress.org.

 

Little Rock Catholic Study BibleSpeaking of Bibles . . . . Do you have a Little Rock Catholic Study Bible? Our Bible is an excellent companion to study as well as prayer. Packed with useful features such as definitions, maps, charts, and even prayer-starters, the Little Rock Catholic Study Bible is user-friendly and attractive. Readers love its unique format and all the information it provides right at their fingertips. Add to your “trail of Bibles”…or someone else’s! The Little Rock Catholic Study Bible makes a great gift for Christmas, RCIA, Confirmation, or “just because”!

view sample pages

 

Little Rock Scripture Study

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Phone: 800-858-5434
Buy Online: littlerockscripture.org
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