“Mom, I’d like to go to the Christian bookstore today.”
I asked if she was looking for something specific.
“I still want to buy a Bible.”
Ooops. I didn’t want to tell her I’d forgotten. I thought
back a couple of weeks to when she first informed me that she wanted to buy
herself a new Bible.
“What kind of Bible are you looking for?” I’d asked her.
“One like yours,” she said.
I happen to have four Bibles at home, two NIV, one NLT, and
one in The Message translation. “One like mine” didn’t help. So, on the spur of
the moment, I tried to explain the difference between translations and study
Bibles.
It was a lot to think about, and as I thought was the case
that day, she had money to burn, (which happened to be at home) and she wanted
a new Bible that day. So, while she kept
pulling ones she liked off the shelf, I suggested she wait and look at mine
first. Then we could come back another day.
She was not happy with me. But, I’m a mom—I’m used to that.
So, here we were a few weeks later going Bible shopping. She
had looked at my Bibles and wanted the NLT translation. So, we were one step
ahead. I really thought she’d like a study Bible, but I knew cost would be an
issue.
We went back to the Christian bookstore, both armed with patience,
common sense, and cool heads. How long they would last, I was unsure. But there
we were. She had $20 to spend, and I had a 40% off coupon I’d found at home.
Within minutes she had chosen a small pocket-sized Bible in
her price range with a blue leather cover with Scripture written on it.
I agreed, it was really cool. But not willing to settle so
soon, I suggested she hold on to it while we looked at the study Bibles. She
humored me and followed me to that aisle.
We found the kind I have, but the hard covers were so heavy.
And the leather covers were expensive…and unattractive.
I knew she was getting frustrated…too expensive, too heavy, too
ugly, not the right translation, no study section. I could see her deflating.
I began silently praying…God,
please show us the Bible you want her to have. She seriously wants this and I
don’t want to disappoint her or burst her bubble. But I also don’t want to
watch her spend all of her money on one she won’t use or be really happy with.
People walked around where we sat on the floor in the study
Bible aisle. We’d been there for a while. And then…we saw one we hadn’t looked
at yet. It was different, but just right.
On the soft, brown leather cover was the Lord’s Prayer, and
she loved it. The price point was more than she could afford, but I ignored
that for the moment. This was the one.
We looked to make sure we weren’t missing anything and then
she started to do the math.
“I don’t have enough money,” she said quietly. “I’ll go put
it back.”
“Wait,” I told her. I knew she wanted to pay for it herself,
but I looked at the t-shirt I’d agreed to buy her when we first got to the
store. “What if we put this back, and I’ll give you the rest of the money you
need for the Bible.”
She looked up at me, “Really? You would do that?”
I nodded. “Yeah, that’s the Bible for you.”
And silently, I prayed…Thank
you, God, thank you!
In Christ,
Laura
