Picked up Anton from school yesterday morning and brought him straight to Sta Lucia for lunch. On our way to Sta Lucia, I asked him what they learned in school today, and to my surprise, Anton needed very little prodding, and he said that they learned about Jesus and the Bible today.
And then I remembered that a family friend gave Anton a bible as a gift at his christening more than four years ago, and I kept it apart from his regular books till when he’s ready for it. Today I decided it was time, and I made a mental note to give it to him tonight.
Anton was just about to go to bed and we’d already turned the lights were off when I remembered. I didn’t want to get him too excited too close to bedtime, but I could hardly contain my excitement myself. And just as I expected, as I handed him the bible by the dim light of his night lamp, Anton told me he wanted to look at his new book. He always loves getting new books. At that point, I was wishing I’d waited till the next morning, but then I was also worried there won’t be enough time before he rushed off to school. So I gave in to his request and turned on the lights again. Wrong decision. He spent the next twenty minutes reading his bible from cover to cover. Even as I kept telling him to put it away and just finish it the next day, I also couldn’t help smiling as he read the stories aloud. He struggled over some long and unfamiliar words, but he read so wonderfully. He read through the stories of the old and new testaments. He couldn’t put it down! And he was especially thrilled with the novelty of the ribbon marker. And I remembered my own first childhood encounter with bible stories, when my dad brought home a set of My Bible Friends by Etta B. Degering. I remember I liked the story of the very brave and wise Queen Esther best of all.
