I was thinking recently about a neat little thing that God did for me over the summer, and ended up writing a bit of a narrative about it. I’m pleased to share this testimony with you!
I was at the beach with friends. We passed a bookshop. I’d already brought two books (for three days of beach) but who cares? It was a well-priced bookstore! Let’s go!
We entered the bookshop to find a large collection of slightly used and new books for fabulous prices. I plopped down before the Classics section and commentated on books and authors I knew, things I had read, agonized over which ones to get. Eventually, I migrated to the children’s books and searched for nostalgic stories I loved. But I didn’t go to the adult section. Normally, I stay out of the adult section because they rarely have a book that I know.
I surveyed my selection:
Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson is one of those titles that has always intrigued me. It was inexpensive, and I LOVE Katherine Patterson. I’ve heard that this is one of her more difficult books, so I’m looking forward to crying over it. (Raise your hand if you have the emotional fortitude to remain dry-eyed with ANY of Patterson’s books. Note that my hand is not raised.)
The Yearling by Marjorie Kenning Rawlings. Oh my goodness, this book was such an existential crisis inducer last summer. I’ve wanted my own copy ever since I listened to the audiobook. The annoying thing is that I can’t find a nice looking copy. They’re all ugly or old. The copy I found at that beach bookshop was not the prettiest, but not very ugly either. And it was less than $5.
Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool, which I just recently began. It was on my booklist and so it definitely caught my eye when I saw it on the shelf! I very sweet children’s book about finding friends and finding home.
Anne of the Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Hehe… The copy I received in 4th grade is looking a little worse for wear. It was the exact same book and only $3. The only sensible choice was to buy it!
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. I’ve learned the hard way that I prefer audiobooking to reading Dickens, but this book was too beautiful to pass up. It’s one of those gorgeous brown and gold leaf copies with the fancy binding. Even if I just listen to the audiobook, it will be a gorgeous edition to my shelf. And it was probably 25% of what books like that are normally priced.
Something was missing. I just needed to look and see if I could find one more book. For whatever reason, I knew I wasn’t finished.
I glanced at the adult section, sighed, and removed my phone from my pocket, searching through my book list. There were only a few books on my list that belong to the adult section there, so I headed dutifully back to search for a Katherine Reay book.
The bookstore was a vivid menagerie of color, each of the mismatched shelves brimming with books in every shade you could imagine. One main aisle stretched down the middle of the shop with little alcoves of books branching off from either side. As I headed toward the back, where I saw the R’s were housed, a book in the M section arrested my attention.
I gasped. It was strange, actually. That amidst that sensory overload of bright tomes crowded chaotically onto shelves, I should see it.
I slid the book off of the shelf. A Fall of Marigolds, by Susan Meissner. I’d been looking for this book. When I was in a bookstore in March. At the library, several times. No one ever had it. And here it was. Two shiny, beautiful blue copies.
I called my friend over. “Hey, I’ve been looking for this book everywhere! I’ve heard it’s really good. It’s about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.”
Her eyes lit up. She was fascinated by that time in history. In middle school, we’d even tried to write a musical about it. “Let’s both get one and read it while we’re here,” she said.
A Fall of Marigolds changed my life. It turns out that one of the major themes was something I needed to read at the exact time I purchased it. It helped me to accept a truth I’d long been avoiding.
I love to see the hand of God in this story. How we found that particular bookstore at that particular time. How somehow, amidst all the mayhem of colors and titles, A Fall of Marigolds popped off the shelf at me. That this particular Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire obsessed friend would be there. That she would buy the book, too. That since we both had a copy, I was prompted to read it right then instead of going on with the book I’d already brought. How the book had eluded me every time I searched for it until then.
I’m never going to forget that day in the bookshop. The thrill of joy as I found each book I was searching for. But especially how God used it and the books within to teach me what was right.
This was one of my favorites of your posts!!!
Not only was the story beautiful, but how you wrote it!!
… I also remember walking into that store and you were two feet in front of me, on the floor, looking at books. 📚💕
It was so fun! And thank you so much, wonderful sissy!
That’s an amazing book haul, and I’m SO GLAD you found A Fall of Marigolds at the end! It really is a beautiful testimony to God’s good plan.
AMEN!!! Thank you. 🥰