BOOKS

I have recently assessed some “stuff” that my wife and I have accumulated through the 28 years of marriage. ------ We got lots of it! Too much! Amongst the stuff there is memorabilia that is priceless as well as junk that needs to be tossed or donated. I personally have a difficult time trying to yard sell. I don’t like the haggle or the mess. It could mean extra cash . . . to buy more junk . . .


My search involved a specific task of finding a book that I will be using to lead our Journey Group Bible study beginning in September. I knew I had it amongst the stuff but it was going to take some digging. My books had mostly been boxed since our departure from full time ministry. Fortunately I knew the general area where the books were packed away in the garage. But of course it was in the last box that I found it.

Printed material, i.e., books, notes, etc can serve value if we can find it again. Although I destroyed all my printed sermon notes as a symbolic gesture that was mentioned in a very early post, my books have always been somewhat of a treasure. I simply like books on a shelf and how they seem to intellectualize my being. Thus I kept my books; the library look is a vision of grandeur.

Keeping these books in boxes for four years was not my intent. It was just one of those unfortunate things. But as I looked through the boxes and found the particular book I was looking for, I realized how dated many of them had become. No, I don’t have signed copies to make them valuable, but I do have memory of how they assisted me in the process of life. Many inspired me, some were tough plowing through.

With the internet accessible information, some of these books could well find a better home and release me from some clutter. I prefer books because of underlining and highlighting for later reference with the physical page flipping. Does that make me old school? I will have to think deeply about any discarding.