Hometown Rankin - April & May 2016

A few years ago, my grandmother passed away and I was tasked with
having to close her estate. I had never done it before, so every step of it was
an educational and eye-opening experience. Despite my desire to keep
everything I had ever known of her, it became necessary to let go of many
of her possessions. So, we had an estate sale. There was just no way to keep
96-years’ worth of stuff.
The day of the sale, I drove over from Jackson and as I turned toward
her house, there were cars lining both sides of the street. I couldn’t for the
life of me imagine what had happened and quickly
became concerned that anyone interested in
attending our event, scheduled to start an hour later,
wouldn’t have a place to park.
But as it turns out, they were there for the sale–all
those people. I started to cry. “Please God! Don’t let
me fall apart now!” I prayed He’d allow me to quickly
compose myself.
That day, people from far and wide came to my
grandmother’s house that had, for this occasion,
been fully converted into one big retail space.
Things that I had seen my whole life and completely
taken for granted apparently not only had value–
but now had price tags on them, as well. Dishes,
step-stools, hammers, and clocks. Vases, rocking
chairs, cast-iron skillets and cookbooks–all valued
differently to different people. And for the first time in my life, I started
to see things differently, too. I actually noticed them.
American Pickers is a popular show on The History Channel that
explores the fascinating world of antique picking and, since my own estate
sale experience, has become one of my favorites. It follows two of the most
skilled pickers in the business as they search for America’s most valuable
antiques–along with stories of the people that owned them. They call
themselves antique archeologists and they’re on a mission to recycle America,
restore forgotten relics to their former glory, and learn a thing or two
about American history along the way.
So with my new-found interest in things of the past, I began to enjoy
going into antique stores and thrift shops looking for items that have “value”.
Value to me might be something that reminds me of my grandmother’s
former possessions. Even just recognizing things can often bring me joy.
And I don’t know what anything is worth–I just know what I like.
One day recently, I was in one of my favorite places and spotted this
unusual little book—no bigger than the palm of my hand. It was in a glass
curio cabinet with a thousand other completely unrelated objects and why
I gravitated to it, or how I ever even saw it in the 50,000-plus-square-feet
of antiques and random estate-type items, is beyond me. It turned out to
be a Bible. And on its gold-plated steel cover were engraved the words,
“May this keep you safe from harm.”
Mary Ann Kirby
♥
Heart
The
Shield
It was sold by the Know Your Bible Sales Company of Cincinnati, Ohio,
and was designed to fit into the left-breast pocket of a combat uniform.
The metal plate was securely attached to the front cover to stop a bullet
from reaching a soldier’s heart. Commonly nicknamed the “bullet-proof
Bible” it was officially marketed as The Heart-Shield. What I was holding
in my hand not only served as a shield of faith, but as a shield against
bullets, too. It literally felt sacred.
The year was 1943. It was World War II.
Pearl Harbor had been bombed in early
December, 1941. In his famous “date which will
live in infamy” message to Congress requesting
that the United States officially declare war on
Japan, President Franklin D. Roosevelt stated that,
“With confidence in our armed forces–with the
unbounded determination of our people–we will
gain the inevitable triumph–so help us God.”
His assurance in God and our military was
further evidenced in the form of a letter from him
that was included with every Heart-Shield Bible
sold. It said, “As Commander-in-Chief I take
pleasure in commending the reading of the Bible
to all who serve in the armed forces of the United
States. Throughout the centuries, men of many
faiths and diverse origins have found in the Sacred
Book words of wisdom, counsel, and inspiration. It is a foundation of
strength and now, as always, an aid in attaining the highest aspirations of
the human soul.”
What changed with the bombing of Pearl Harbor was the fact that
this war was one that the United States could not avoid. It was a war
against a totalitarian ideology that was bent on world domination and,
if left unstopped, would affect the course of human history. It was a war
for the soul of the world. Sound familiar?
President Roosevelt made no bones in reminding the nation of the
Bible’s importance in America’s formation and continuance. He was also
quoted as saying, “We cannot read the history of our rise and development
as a nation without reckoning with the place the Bible has occupied in
shaping the advances of the Republic.” And yet here we are, all these years
later–removing it at every turn. My how times have changed.
I paid a whopping $25 for my newly acquired piece of history. And in
my quest to find its “true value”, I’ve learned more about our nation than
I ever might have known otherwise. In some ways these current times
seem unprecedented. In other ways, they don’t. But there should continue
to be a profound longing to make things right with all humanity by people
of every faith and conscience.
We’re always at war, aren’t we? Sometimes literally–often figuratively.
Your faith is your best armor. Don’t ever enter battle without your shield.
Hometown Rankin • 71