3 September 2011

I stopped by the Family Christian Bookstore today, just to look.  I haven’t been there yet and I’m slowly experiencing all these places anew since I’ve been back.  Today seemed a good day to check this one out.  I’m always amazed that, even though I’ve been back in the States for a month now, I’m still overwhelmed in new surroundings and particularly in stores.  One day this will all become normal… but for now, the site of so much well-made, fun, attractive, and well-stocked merchandise never ceases to overwhelm my senses.

Today, as I walked into the store, I discovered a few things. 

One, a new movie is coming out by the makers of “Fireproof.”  And lots of books and decorative signs and stuff are available for purchase pertaining to this.

Two, evidently they’ve gotten on board with the Free Trade idea and have a variety of bags, clothing, jewelry, scarfs, etc from all over the world.  I wandered through this section and nearly wept.  Not only did this area bring back the memories of things and places and people, things I felt were “normal,” but it also touched me so much to think of people being really impacted by this… and got my brain rolling on how to connect people I know to opportunities like this to sell the things they make.  Yep, Anna, I was thinking of you and all your paper-bead necklaces available for purchase from Uganda!!!

I wandered through the rows of cute plaques and Biblical sayings you can set on a shelf or hang on your wall.  I was overwhelmed not so much at the amount of things for sale (as is my usual reaction to stores these days), but I was instead touched at the thought of so many Biblically-focused decorations and reminders being available all in one place.  I hadn’t seen something like this for two years… and it made me miss places like this where the Word of God is so available and accepted.  If you live near a place like this, give thanks that it's there!  There is no where else around the world (that I've seen) where you'll have access to so much Biblically-focused material than the States.

It also made me think I need to start getting things like this made in the Land of Tanz (it’s just carvings on a piece of wood, after all!)

Then, there was the Bible aisle.  Or, should I saw, aisleS. 

This shouldn’t have surprised me.  I know they’re there.  I’ve been in this same place numerous times before.  I’ve journaled about the availability of the Word of God in over 500 versions in the English language… and how we have this so accessible and yet hardly use it.  But as I heard a clerk ask someone if they were looking for a study Bible or simply something decorative, it hit me.  Wow.  Not only are there entire sections dedicated to one version of the Bible, and other sections focused on Bible software (which is awesome, btw!), but people have these in their houses.  And maybe, hopefully, are using them.  But, they are available!  In any color combination or decorative type, version or size or shape you could imagine.  

The reality of the accessibility of the Bible in our own language – did I mention we have over 500 versions?  which is awesome!  I love to compare and see another way to express what God was saying in a way that connects and makes more sense to me.  But… the fact that we have this in our own language, in a language we understand… is still startling as I prepare to go back to Musoma.  Which is a place where people are working diligently to get the Word of God into NINE languages that have NEVER HAD IT before.  Many of which were just recently written down. 

These are languages that speak to people’s hearts.  That have a saving message of a Friend, Messiah, Father, Saviour, King, Lover, Warrior just for them.  And that many of them yearn to hear in a language that they truly understand. 

And it makes my role in the scope of Bible Translation just that much more clear.  This place, this role, this job ahead of me has a purpose in the Kingdom.  It’s bigger than anything I can do alone.  And it’s something that I am completely convinced needs doing.

It’s amazing what can come out of a simple trip to the local Christian Bookstore!

"...Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done, and proclaim that His name is exalted!"     - Isaiah 12:4