How to please a bibliophile
Lately our house resembles a yard sale for books. It isn’t. No, this bibliophile welcomed a deluge of books donated for Love Packages in Butler, Illinois.
In March, the Barton Library Book sale yielded a couple cardboard boxes filled with Bibles, sermons, commentaries and devotionals. From other resources the collection grew until by mid-April we had 26 boxes with the promise of more from the closing of Recovery in Christ Thrift Store.
“I need to take those boxes to Butler,” my husband said. “We have more than the van can carry already.”
“Find someone to go with you. I’d rather wait until we go visit family,” I said.
Ray Voss agreed to go with him. After they left, I stopped by Recovery in Christ to assess the remaining books.
“I was just about to call you to come take the books. I need to sell the book shelves,” the proprietor said.
I took a deep breath. ”Oh, my! I need to get boxes.” I dashed to the grocery store for cardboard milk crates. I spent the next hour packing five boxes with books. Hubby returned from his trip, laid them around the living room by size and compacted most into three boxes.
The next week I was told, “Liberty Baptist Thrift Store plans to close. You can get whatever books you want.” That added four boxes to our storage room.
Hubby went to Texarkana for a medical appointment. “When you come back through Magnolia, please stop at the CCAPS thrift store and see if they have any Christian literature. Their prices are really good,” I said.
He returned with a heap of books for Butler, Illinois. A trip to Little Rock included a thrift store stop, and the tower grew taller with more boxes of Bibles and Christian literature.
In the grocery store I met Cheri Moore awkwardly carrying a load of our favorite boxes. I smiled, “Are you moving?”
“No, I am going to take my son’s books out of storage to donate,” she said.
“If there are any Bibles or Christian books, Love Packages could use them,” I said.
I learned Moore had lost her son Dan 12 years ago in an accident. “I took care of his personal items a long time ago, but his books went into storage in plastic totes. He loved his books,” she said.
I explained the mission to her. “Love Packages collects new and used Christian Literature and Bibles to send to about 20 countries where individuals, schools and churches cannot afford the abundance we have.”
“My son would be so pleased to have his books go there.”
“I might be able to use his other books, so don’t sort, I will do that,” I said.
That afternoon she brought six totes. At the same time I received a message that Rodney Landes had Christian literature from his late mother’s house. Moore came by two more times with books before I could get with Landes. He had sturdy legal storage boxes ready to carry the sorted books. I added in some interesting, older novels and left with four boxes
Moore came with more totes of books. Landes called and left another two boxes on the porch. Between the two of them my husband added two rows of boxes in the garage.
We had plenty, but that did not stop us from asking for Christian literature at a pastor’s estate sale. We loaded up five boxes to take home, plus I received another half a box at yard sales in Parkers Chapel.
Within a month we have collected 23 tightly packed boxes of Bibles and books. By the time you read this, we will have delivered them to Love Packages to be shipped where people read every piece of literature.
That makes this bibliophile happy.