by JANE SMUDRICK PEACOCK

“The rain and snow come down from the heavens
and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow,
producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry.

It is the same with my word.
I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
It will accomplish all I want it to,
and it will prosper everywhere I send it.” Isaiah 55:10-11 NLT

The following is a guest author’s story that shows the importance an old Bible can play in a stranger’s life.  Underlined passages and written notes in our old Bibles can be meaningful, even life changing, to someone who reads it. We never know just what the Lord will use to bring someone that final step towards salvation. I hope Jane will forgive my adding the above scripture, but this true story is a perfect picture of the unchanging truth of God’s Word.–Kathy Stanford

OVER THE YEARS I HAVE PURCHASED DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE BIBLE.  WHEN THE LIVING BIBLE CAME OUT, I WANTED ONE BECAUSE OF THE STORYBOOK FASHION IN WHICH IT WAS WRITTEN.  I USED THIS BIBLE FOR MANY YEARS, AND FROM TIME TO TIME HAD WRITTEN DOWN CERTAIN MEANINGFUL PHRASES IN IT.  I HAD ALSO UNDERLINED NUMEROUS RELEVANT PASSAGES.  WHEN MY HUSBAND PURCHASED FOR ME A NEW BIBLE AT CHRISTMAS ONE YEAR, I PUT MY LIVING BIBLE IN THE BOOKCASE, USING IT ONLY AS A REFERENCE.  THIS IS THE STORY OF THE JOURNEY OF THIS LIVING BIBLE AND HOW IT BECAME A TESTIMONY FOR GOD’S WORD.

            SEVERAL YEARS AGO, MY HUSBAND’S BROTHER IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, WAS EXPERIENCING SOME VERY DIFFICULT TIMES IN HIS LIFE, BOTH FINANCIALLY AND EMOTIONALLY.  HIS WIFE HAD PASSED AWAY SUDDENLY AND UNEXPECTEDLY AND HE WAS VERY DISTRAUGHT.  HE HAD CALLED SEVERAL TIMES, SHARING HIS HOPELESSNESS AND EVEN MENTIONING SUICIDE.  BEING A CHRISTIAN, I NATURALLY SUGGESTED THAT HE SEEK COMFORT IN THE LORD.  I TOLD HIM THAT WHEN I HAVE EXPERIENCED DIFFICULT SITUATIONS, I ALWAYS HAVE GONE TO MY LORD FOR HELP.  I ASKED HIM IF HE HAD A BIBLE TO READ GOD’S WORD.  SINCE HE DID NOT HAVE ONE, I ASKED HIM IF HE WOULD LIKE ME TO SEND HIM ONE OF MY OLD ONES.  SO I MAILED TO HIM, IN CHICAGO, MY OLD LIVING BIBLE AND THE JOURNEY BEGAN.

            SEVERAL MONTHS LATER, MY BROTHER-IN-LAW HAD TO MOVE FROM THE HOME HE SHARED WITH HIS WIFE TO AN APARTMENT.  HIS CHILDREN CAME OVER TO HELP HIM MOVE, AND IN THE PROCESS, BOXED UP A LOT OF THINGS TO TAKE TO GOODWILL.  APPARENTLY, MY LIVING BIBLE WAS AMONG THOSE BOXED-UP ITEMS, AND ITS JOURNEY CONTINUED.

ABOUT A YEAR LATER, I RECEIVED A PHONE CALL FROM A LADY IN GEORGIA.  SHE TOLD ME THAT WHILE SHE WAS VISITING IN NORTH CAROLINA, SHE HAD PURCHASED A BIBLE FROM A SITE ON THE INTERNET.    THE LADY ASKED AMAZON.COM TO SHIP THE BOOK TO HER HOME ADDRESS IN GEORGIA.  WHEN SHE GOT HOME AFTER HER TRIP, THE BIBLE HAD ALREADY ARRIVED.  SHE OPENED THE PACKAGE AND DISCOVERED THAT THE BOOK SHE RECEIVED WAS NOT THE ONE SHE HAD ORDERED.  SHE GLANCED THROUGH THE BIBLE AND NOTICED THAT MY NAME AND PHONE NUMBER WERE INSIDE THE COVER, AND GAVE ME A CALL.  HOWEVER, IN ORDER TO GET HER MONEY BACK, SHE HAD TO RETURN THE BOOK TO AMAZON.COM.   SHE SHARED THAT SHE WAS GOING THOUGH SOME DIFFICULT SITUATIONS AND THAT MY WRITINGS INSIDE THE BOOK AS WELL AS UNDERLINED SCRIPTURES PROVED HELPFUL.   SHE AND HER HUSBAND WERE SEPARATED AND CONTEMPLATING A DIVORCE.  THE LADY SAID THAT SHE FELT THE NEED TO LET ME KNOW WHERE MY BIBLE WAS AT THIS POINT IN TIME. 

HOW MY LIVING BIBLE GOT FROM THE GOODWILL IN CHICAGO TO A SITE ON THE INTERNET WHERE IT WAS LISTED FOR PURCHASE IS A HUGE MYSTERY.  AS A RESULT, MY BIBLE’S JOURNEY WAS DESTINED TO CONTINUE.

ANOTHER YEAR OR SO PASSED AND AT 7:00 A.M. ONE MORNING, I RECEIVED A PHONE CALL FROM A LADY IN BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.  SHE APOLOGIZED FOR CALLING SO EARLY, BUT THAT SHE JUST COULD NOT WAIT TO TELL ME THAT SHE HAD MY LIVING BIBLE.  SHE INFORMED ME THAT THE WORDS I HAD WRITTEN IN IT AND THE UNDERLINED PASSAGES HAD COME TO HER AT A TIME IN HER LIFE WHEN SHE NEEDED THEM MOST.  SHE SAID THAT WHAT SHE FOUND IN THIS BIBLE WAS GREATLY HELPFUL AND JUST WHAT SHE NEEDED. 

SHE RELATED HER STORY AS FOLLOWS.  THE PREVIOUS NIGHT, SHE HAD GONE OVER TO THE HOME OF HER MOTHER WHO WAS VERY, VERY ILL.  IT HAD BEEN RAINING STEADILY ALL DAY.  AS SHE ARRIVED AT HER MOTHER’S HOUSE, SHE NOTICED A BIBLE LYING ON THE FRONT STEPS IN THE RAIN.  THINKING THAT HER MOM HAD ACCIDENTALLY LEFT IT OUTSIDE, SHE PICKED IT UP, TOOK IT INSIDE, AND SHOWED IT TO HER MOTHER.  AFTER CONCLUDING THAT THE BOOK WAS NOT HER MOM’S, SHE TOOK IT HOME WITH HER. 

AS THE LADY BEGAN TO LOOK THROUGH THE BIBLE, SHE READ SOME OF WHAT WAS WRITTEN INSIDE THE COVERS AND WHAT HAD BEEN UNDERLINED.  AMAZINGLY, THE RAIN HAD DONE VERY LITTLE DAMAGE; NO PAGES STUCK TOGETHER, NONE OF THE WRITING WAS ILLEGIBLE, AND THE PAGE WITH MY NAME AND PHONE NUMBER WAS TOTALLY UNTOUCHED BY MOISTURE.  FINDING MY NAME AND PHONE NUMBER IN IT, SHE CALLED TO LET ME KNOW WHERE MY BIBLE WAS.  SHE ASKED IF SHE COULD KEEP IT FOR A WHILE, BUT THAT SHE WOULD MAIL IT BACK TO ME.  SHE WANTED TO COPY SOME OF THE THINGS WRITTEN IN IT AND ALSO UNDERLINE SOME OF THE SAME PASSAGES IN HER OWN BIBLE.  I TOLD HER TO KEEP IT IF SHE WANTED.  I WAS HAPPY TO KNOW THAT MY BIBLE WAS HELPING SOMEONE. 

HOW ON EARTH MY BIBLE GOT FROM AMAZON.COM TO A DOORSTEP IN MARYLAND IS A COMPLETE MYSTERY.  UNBELIEVABLY, MY BIBLE’S JOURNEY HAD ONE MORE TRIP TO MAKE.

ANOTHER YEAR OR SO PASSED.  AS I WENT TO THE MAILBOX, AS I DO EVERY DAY, THERE WAS A PACKAGE WRAPPED IN BROWN PAPER,  WAITING THERE FOR ME.  AMAZINGLY, MY LIVING BIBLE HAD COME HOME!  ALONG WITH THE BIBLE WAS A BEAUTIFUL LETTER FROM SHARON IN MARYLAND. MY BIBLE HAD COME TO HER AT A DIFFICULT TIME IN HER LIFE AND GAVE HER GREAT COMFORT.  FINDING THAT BIBLE AND READING WHAT WAS IN IT AS WELL AS WHAT WAS UNDERLINED HAD FULFILLED A NEED IN HER LIFE WHICH, NOW, WAS GOING GREAT.

I IMMEDIATELY CALLED SHARON AND THE LADY IN GEORGIA.  I THANKED SHARON FOR RETURNING MY BIBLE AND THAT I, TOO, RECEIVED A GREAT BLESSING THAT MY LIVING BIBLE HAD TOUCHED AND IMPACTED SOMEONE’S LIFE.    I UPDATED THE GEORGIA LADY ON WHERE MY BIBLE HAD BEEN AND THAT IT WAS BACK HOME WITH ME.  SHE INFORMED ME THAT HER LIFE WAS GOING GREAT FOR HER ALSO.  SHE AND HER HUSBAND HAD RECONCILED AND WERE VERY HAPPY.  GOD REALLY DOES WORK IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS! 

 THE JOURNEY THAT GOD’S WORD CAN TAKE TO BE RECEIVED BY SOMEONE IN NEED IS BOTH UPLIFTING AND INSPIRING.  ONE WONDERS WHAT OTHER LIVES DID MY OLD LIVING BIBLE TOUCH ALONG ITS JOURNEY FROM FLORIDA TO ILLINOIS, TO GEORGIA, TO MARYLAND, AND BACK TO FLORIDA.  THIS IS A TRUE STORY AND QUITE A TESTIMONIAL TO GOD’S WORD.