The Value of A Book

I have loved books for as long as I can remember .
Last Sunday afternoon we wandered through a  local crafts, antique Christmas fair and I stopped at a vendor's booth displaying a bookshelf of old books.
I picked up several -- just to look -- but I ended up buying this one because it had something that made it more valuable than just the merit of the book itself.
Yes, it was old and well worn by years of use.
As I held it I imagined how many children had listened wide-eyed as the stories were read to them, their favourite stories heard so many times they almost knew them by heart!
The book is big, with easy to read large print for the benefit of grandparents who were the ones with the  most time to read to their children.
It contains not only many sketches and black and white drawings but also a goodly number of colour plates.

But it wasn't for the above reasons that I wanted the book.
When I asked my husband for the cash to pay for it, his face reflected his question.."why do you want that old book?"   But being the dear he is, he paid and later when I explained to him the reason I wanted it, he understood.

On the fly page were these words ...   Douglas Hayens,  with love from his Grandmamma who wrote these stories for little people ...   Xmas 1910 

A personal note by the  author ?  THAT makes it valuable.  Knowing that 103 years ago the author personally held my copy  in her hands and gifted it to her grandson is very special to me and well worth the money I paid for the book.
Actually,  I didn't pay very much.  When I pointed out to the vendor  the fact that the book was signed by the author, he was surprised and commented that perhaps I had found the treasure of the day!

I thought of another book that I value more than any other book I have read or own.
It too is old... copies of it often sit on bookshelves and the owners do not recognize its worth, do not realize that it is a treasure!
The book , of course is the Bible . Every copy contains the living words of the author, written for His children. It has survived not only years or decades or even centuries but  thousands of years.
It is the best seller of all time!
How many people have read it or listened to it being read, their favourite passages learned by heart!

I found these words somewhere long ago  and wrote them on the fly page of my bible.

God's Word 

Century follows century, 

There it stands! 

Empires rise and fall and are forgotten . 

There it stands!

Dynasty succeeds dynasty. 

There it stands! 

It outlives, out lifts, out loves,

out reaches, out ranks, out runs 

ALL other books. 

Trust it, love it, obey it, 

and Eternal Life is yours! 

Dr. A.Z.Conrad