In these pages...

The Bible

It’s a history book

A guide book

A love letter

A weapon of defense

It’s a genealogy

A hymnal

A mystery

A witness account

It’s a symphony

A challenge

A blueprint

A treasure map

In these pages we find

Secrets and lies

We find wonder and awe

These pages breathe

And weep

These pages satisfy hunger

And quench fear

It’s full of brokenness and pain

It’s full of redemption and adventure

It’s full of sorrow, laughter and doubt

In these pages we learn poetry and wisdom

Calculations and economics

In these pages we learn to build and tear down

To pray and to wait

We learn to gasp

At the glorious splendor of a King

To depend on the timing

Of an Omniscient father

We learn to move toward Uncomfortable

Opening this book sheds light

On justice, struggle and wretchedness

It illuminates hope, steadfastness and purity

Opening this book brings out of shadow

The distasteful truths, the poor decisions

And the painful legacies

In this book are commands from a King

Orders for a steward

Invitations for a friend

And intimate whispers for a lover

In this book are loving boundaries

Testaments of friendship and lifegiving directions

You see, His calling cards come in an array of colors,

Shapes, transparencies, patterns and shades.

Intonation, inflection and radiant majesty.

His calling cards appear every day of your life,

Just as they appear on every page in this book

Some days it’s in the dirt or the grease under your fingernails

Some days it’s in the tears on your pillow or the ache in your chest

A sunset, a moonrise, a birdsong, a torrent of rain

A package, a letter, a dance, a passionate song

Some days it’s the hand in the hospital room

Some days it’s the peace flooding over as sunlight finally breaks through

Whether you are right or you’re wrong

Whether you are strong or you’re weak

Your days are numbered and God knows every one

As you can see in these pages, these chapters

He sees

He knows

He is compassionate, protective, forgiving and instructive

He is kind, creative, powerful and present

He is consistent, faithful, rich, good and holy

He is righteous, redemptive, merciful and sovereign

And it’s all here, in these pages,

This ageless old book