Magical Shelves

 

There was once a young girl who had a few shelves of books allocated to her on the big family set of bookshelves. She would take a gander at them often, pulling off a favourite to re-read and put back one just finished. They were just everyday shelves of books, and yet they were full of magic. Those shelves were very well known by this young girl, because her eyes would wander over them all on a regular basis. She knew the locations of all the books, even her brothers' collections, and what books were included. She knew the encyclopedias as deeply as her own dedicated shelves, for those chunky, large books would often come off the bottom shelf, and right in front of the shelf the young girl would sit cross-legged on the floor with the selected book open on her lap. There was no internet, at least, not for several years, and even when there was dial-up it was not used very much. This was exploring the world and the abundance of knowledge, but through the lens of books.

She would eagerly anticipate every trip to Walmart (the old school stores of the 1990s) because there was a small book aisle, where she could peruse the 4-5 shelves of paperbacks and inevitably end up with one to take home. It felt like carrying a treasure around the rest of the shopping trip with a new book in hand. Those shelves were also full of magic.

That girl grew up but she stills feels the same thrill of a new book and a familiar book pulled off a magical shelf. I do not shop at Walmart, but whatever bookshop I might be in (or when one arrives that I ordered - book mail is my very favourite kind of mail), holding that new book awakens that childhood sensation of wonder and mystery at what lies behind the cover in black ink on hundreds of pages. That eagerness to stop everything and read it the rest of the day is the same strong urge every time. Of course, now as an adult I more often have to set it aside to wait patiently for time to read, but it sometimes could be right then and there I open that cover.

I am still that girl who wanders her shelves, pulling off titles to re-visit or just dip into. The joy of revisiting a loved book is in the deeper discovery (or even new discovery) of something missed before or perhaps forgotten until eyes settle on those words again. Reading a good book again will open the approach to fresh perspective. The book hasn't changed in those years, but I have. And my attention might be catching different aspects I never saw before, with reflections on my life, which probably has something different going on than when I first read it. This is also why reading Scripture again and again is so beneficial. There are always varying insights to gather from good books. We have much to learn at every turn of our lives. And good books are that steadfast place to return to for wisdom, insight, and perspective.