Finding Blessings Tucked Between Pages of Scripture

by Lois Flowers

When it comes to Bible management, there are two extremes. There are people who come home from church on Sunday and immediately remove every scrap of paper from their Bibles, and there are those who keep every single bulletin, flyer and inspirational bookmark they’ve ever owned stuffed between the pages of their Bibles.

Frosty sunrise

(I know this spectrum exists because I am married to one of those first people, and I’m pretty sure it’s a scientific fact that every extreme must have an opposite extreme, thus the second group.)

Several weeks ago, author Jennifer Dukes Lee posted something on her blog that got me thinking about this.

“For years,” she wrote, “I have kept a little slip of paper tucked between the pages of my Bible. It says, ‘Keep reading. It’s not the end of the book.’ ”

I always love a good quote, and the one Jennifer shared is a keeper, for sure. But that particular day, her words called to mind the things that I keep tucked between the pages of my own Bible.

In case you were wondering, I fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum I described above. Right now, for example, my bible holds a ticket for our upcoming Christmas Tea and an Operation Christmas Child bookmark, along with a dog-eared envelope full of little notes and pictures my daughters have given me over the years (thoughtfully organized by one of those very girls).

The ticket and bookmark will be culled after a few weeks, while the envelope will remain until it completely falls apart. But as special as its contents are, there are a couple of other items in my Bible that have been there much longer and are much more meaningful to me.

One little piece of paper contains the lyrics to a worship song we used to sing at our church in Northwest Arkansas back when we were waiting to adopt Molly. We knew we would be getting a daughter from China, but before we received our adoption referral, we had no idea who she was or exactly where she was.

The message of the song “He Knows My Name” sustained us during those days of wondering. We knew the little girl who would become our second daughter had already been born, and it gave us great comfort to remember that God not only knew her name, but was watching over her until we were able to come for her.

Every time I flip past those lyrics, I’m vaulted back to that season in God’s waiting room. Yes, there were tears that fell, just as the song says, and I will never forget them. But even as my eyes get misty once again, my heart overflows with gratitude at the way He so graciously answered our prayers for our sweet Molly.

The second item that will never leave the pages of my Bible is a tiny zip-lock baggie, about an inch square, that contains three actual mustard seeds. These little baggies were handed out at the same church, probably on a Sunday when the message had something to do with faith.

In my Bible, though, this little packet is not between the pages of Matthew’s gospel, where Jesus talks about moving mountains with faith the size of mustard seeds. It’s stuck in the fold of Lamentations 3, a passage I held close during another season of waiting when my trust sometimes wavered but God’s faithfulness did not:

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. (Lamentations 3:22-26)

I cannot look at those seeds, in that specific spot in my Bible, without remembering. How God comforted us through three years of infertility. How He carried us as we waited almost two more years to adopt Lilly. How He went before us to China and watched over both of the daughters He had chosen for our family since before time began. How He’s been with us every day since.

Through ups and downs, change and stress, turmoil and joy—He’s always constant, always loving, always faithful.

That’s what’s in my Bible—and in my heart—this week of Thanksgiving.

What’s in yours?

Lois Flowers

P.S. I’m linking up this week with Grace & Truth, Angela Parlin at #RaRaLinkup, Jennifer Dukes Lee at #TellHisStory and Holley Gerth at Coffee for Your Heart.

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16 comments

jean bickford November 30, 2015 - 4:29 pm

My favorite scrap of paper is the adult sunday school notes of my late husband. Ten years later I have been able to share his exact words to our sons.

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Lois Flowers November 30, 2015 - 4:52 pm

What a great way to pass a father’s spiritual heritage on to his sons, Jean! I’m so glad you kept those notes!

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Linda Stoll November 29, 2015 - 6:57 pm

Oh yeah … tucked inside my decades old Bible are more than their fair share of feathers, notes, pictures, scraps of paper, memories and reminders and gratitudes.

Love this, Lois …

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Lois Flowers November 30, 2015 - 9:56 am

Knowing you have feathers in your Bible is making me smile today, Linda! 🙂

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Karen Del Tatto November 27, 2015 - 7:44 pm

Lois, I loved this post! It’s so true that we all have special things tucked away in our Bibles that have a special meaning just to us, that are significant to “our story”.

Thank you for sharing what is meaningful to you in your Bible. I especially thank you for sharing the verse from Lamentations. Although I have read it numerous times, it jumped out at me afresh with great comfort as I am praying for a loved one who is in the throws of alcoholism. This gave me hope to not “lose hope”, but to wait quietly on the Lord whose compassions are new every morning.

Thank you for blessing me.

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Lois Flowers November 28, 2015 - 8:58 am

Karen, it is wonderful to hear from you this Thanksgiving weekend. It’s easy to get discouraged in prayer when the outcome is uncertain, isn’t it? I’m glad reading the passage from Lamentations again has given you fresh hope … it does the same for me, every time I read it! 🙂

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Susan Shipe November 25, 2015 - 8:39 am

What’s in mine? Oh my word, my WORD is full of so many things – it’s almost like a scrapbook!!! And, if it ever drops? Papers everywhere!!! I would have it no other way. At Holley’s today, #36!

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Lois Flowers November 27, 2015 - 9:42 am

I love that, Susan! Thanks for stopping by!

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Angela Parlin November 24, 2015 - 9:31 pm

Thank you, Lois, for sharing your beautiful memories and the way the Lord has been so faithful and gone before you (each of us) each step of the way. I am so encouraged by this.

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Lois Flowers November 25, 2015 - 8:01 am

Thank you for YOUR encouragement today, Angela, and for hosting the linkup this week! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

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Anna Smit November 24, 2015 - 5:16 pm

What beautiful memories of His love and faithfulness to both you and your girls. We adopted my brother from Romania and I have loved watching God redeeming his story and blessing us through his continuing story. I also love Lamentations 3…it’s something I return to, remembering that even in my darkest pit of despair (PTSD flashbacks of my mother’s last hours) He brought His Light to hold me up, when I could no longer do that myself. Our God who was and is and is to come: what a comfort.

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Lois Flowers November 25, 2015 - 7:58 am

Thank you for your kind words, Anna. I love how one passage of scripture can speak to people in so many different circumstances, don’t you? Lamentations 3 (and the song “Great is Thy Faithfulness”) has been one of my favorites for a long time, and I’m encouraged to hear how it has comforted you as well. I hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving!

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Mary Geisen November 24, 2015 - 4:38 pm

Thanking God with you today that He is constant, loving and faithful! Beautiful reminder in this week of thanksgiving. Blessed to be your neighbor at Jennifer’s today! Happy Thanksgiving!

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Lois Flowers November 25, 2015 - 7:53 am

Happy Thanksgiving to you too, Mary. I’m so glad you stopped by today!

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Trudy November 24, 2015 - 1:12 pm

I love your sharing of memories that remind you of God’s faithful love, Lois. “Through ups and downs, change and stress, turmoil and joy—He’s always constant, always loving, always faithful.” Amen! Sometimes we can’t see it in the midst of the turmoil, but in hindsight we have to say “Yes, He was there, too, and remains loving and faithful.” Thank you for this comforting reminder. Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!

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Lois Flowers November 24, 2015 - 4:29 pm

Thanks so much, Trudy. I love writing these stories … and reading them too. Few things encourage my faith more! Many blessings to you this Thanksgiving week!

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