Sunday, July 20, 2025
I try to keep my eyes open, not only so I won’t trip over something in my path, but also so I don’t miss anything beautiful or funny or surprising or otherwise worth seeing. Once in a while I notice something in nature that looks like a number, or a letter of the alphabet, and I happily take a photo to add it to my mild collection.
In the past, I haven’t looked for books of the Bible in my surroundings, but now I do, all because of the owl you see in my above photos.
This owl used to perch upright in the front garden of a home we walk by at least once a day. Then he began to tilt, and eventually ended up on his back, looking up with unblinking eyes. I always wanted to lift him up and plant him upright once more, but somehow that seemed like meddling, so he remained down for months.
Until two weeks ago, when we were surprised to find him restored to his original position – see photo 2!
So what does all this have to do with books of the Bible? Whether upright or down on his back, this owl has always made me think of the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament. Standing serene and upright, the owl reminds me of his reputation as a symbol of wisdom, and Proverbs has much to say, rather urgently, about wisdom. When he appeared to be knocked down and ignored, the owl looked like wisdom kicked to the curb. The book of Proverbs has a good, cautionary word for that: folly.
I thought I could build a collection of photos that remind me of books of the Bible, starting with our neighborhood owl. (I enjoy the fact that this owl’s owners know nothing of the musings their bird has stirred up in me, and the project he’s inspired!)
What book of the Bible would be represented by a humble box of Kleenex? Lamentations! A hymnal? Psalms!
To make it more fun, I could add to each book’s photo page a favorite verse or passage from that book. For Proverbs, my mind turns to:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
(Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV)
That’s wisdom!
For the book of Lamentations, I think I’d dry my tears, put away my Kleenex, and include one of the most hope-filled passages in the Bible:
Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
(Lamentations 3:21-26 NIV)
That’s solid comfort for all who lament!
For many of the Bible’s books there would be a myriad of images to choose from, to best represent the book. I’m thinking of the first book, Genesis, packed to the brim with the story of our beginning, and the following adventures and misadventures of generations of our early ancestors.
But for the Bible itself, the collection of sixty-six books, I don’t have to look far for my symbol. It may seem sentimental, but it’s not. It’s the solid, take-to-the-bank truth threaded throughout the Word of God. I suspect you’ve already guessed it; it’s a heart. Often it’s broken, but it’s always there, beating steadily with sacrificial, yearning love for you and me.