I received a new Bible for Christmas this year. It was a gift of need, but was bittersweet nonetheless. My previous Bible has been with me for over ten years, and was used almost every day in that time.
A completely debilitated spine made the change a necessary one, but it’s hard to give up on objects that have been embedded with emotional attachment. Books have always been this way for me — how much more with the Book that gives my life meaning.
Covered in highlighter and penciled-in musings and incomplete thoughts and even food stains, the pages of this book have meaning, even if only for me. Verses that I have memorized over the years are set to the type in this particular Bible, and I have trouble finding them in the new one.
Transitions are hard.
But this is an observation, not something to lament. Even as we lose friends in this world — whether due to death, distance or differences — new friends appear. We are blessed in this regard. It takes time to replace a good friend, and even more investment of yourself to find great ones. Kindred spirits are not always around the corner or on the other end of the social network of the moment.
But all it takes is time. I look forward to scratching away on the new Bible, learning the flow of the chapters and verses on its pages. In time, it will play the same role as its predecessor. And the process of getting to that place is something to enjoy, to savour.
Old friends pass, but we can remember them fondly. And enjoy the blessing of new friends at the same time.
Now that I’m in the wonderful position of working for myself, a goal for this coming year is to finally spend more time learning front end development. I’m focusing mostly on the usual suspects: CSS, HTML and javascript.
I’d like to buy 2 or 3 great books on the subject and I’d love to hear from some experts — what titles would you recommend?
