Hidden Treasures

The faded red barn on our farm was the center of activity when I was growing up. Each morning and evening the cows filed into the stanchions to be milked. Bleating calves, pigs or sheep were housed on the north side. The horses had the best stall of all, right by the door. When my dad wasn’t in a rush to get the crops planted or the harvest in, he still liked to use his team of horses, Trix and Tony, for fieldwork and parades.

The second floor of the barn held the hayloft. Hay was lifted through a giant door at the front and stored for winter use. Later it was pushed out that same door into a hayrack to feed the cattle in the barnyard.

To get to the hayloft, you had to climb a set of boards nailed to the wall inside the barn. I remember working up my courage to climb that ladder for the first time, but soon I had it mastered. I loved to play all year round in the fragrant alfalfa stored in the haymow. However, spring was especially fun, because our mother cat liked to raise her kittens in the warm, quiet loft.

If I discovered the kittens before their eyes were open, I had to wait for a few days before picking them up. They were much too delicate to be handled by a little girl’s hands. However, once they were old enough to play, I’d visit them several times a day.

Finding those kittens was like finding hidden treasure. Each day I delighted in watching them grow up. First, they nestled with their mother, then they began to wobble from their cozy hollow. Before long, they were chasing the dust motes that gleamed in the sunlight streaming through a high window. Once they began pouncing on and wrestling with each other, I knew they would soon travel beyond the haymow.

For a prairie girl living on a farm with no other children nearby, the kittens were indeed hidden treasures. Finding them brought a lot of happiness to my life.

Today, I wouldn’t mind finding a nest of kittens once again, but I can count on finding another hidden treasure every day. There are many hidden gems for us in the Bible. Made up of 66 books, written by 40 authors, over 1,500 years, it contains history, adventure, prophecy, hope and encouragement.

Even when we are very familiar with the Bible, passages can leap out at us and give us new understanding to apply to our lives. The advice found there is better than any self-help book.

There are versions of the Bible for every reading preference. I personally like those with modern language, such as the New King James or The Living Bible. They are much easier to understand than texts with older language. If you haven’t read the Bible in some time, a trip through the gospel of Mark or John is a good place to start.

Colossians 3: 16 states “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you.” That’s the New American Standard, by the way. Finding that richness is way more valuable than finding a batch of kittens and just as exciting.

 Do you have a favorite version of the Bible? A favorite study guide? Tips to help others get started reading the Good Book? If you send them in, I will try to incorporate them into a blog next month. Until then, keep reading!