Recently, while at a meeting in someone’s home, one of the
women present pointed at a bookshelf nearby and smiled at me. At first, I
wondered what she was doing—I couldn’t see anything there that stood out to me.
‘Look, Jo-Anne—there are two of your books! I’ve got them at
home too.’
I looked again then and finally saw my first two novels at
one end of the shelf. Then someone else chimed in.
‘I have all of your
books lined up in my bookcase,’ another commented, much to my embarrassment.
‘I have too, another person added. ‘See—you’re famous!’
I laughed and the conversation soon changed direction. But
later, as I reflected on what had been said, I felt so thankful and humbled.
How blessed am I to have had seven books published at this stage of my life—and
what a privilege to have been able to enrich the lives of others even in some
small way through what I have written! No, my books may not have been classics
or best sellers or winners of great awards. But at least some people have been
blessed through reading them and still treasure my books on their shelves.
Recently, I have been thinking about the treasures books in
general are to us, as I have been asked to speak somewhere on that topic later
in the year. So far, I have come up with the following ideas—and please feel
free to share any of your own with me! Books enlarge our knowledge and
understanding of the world around us, giving us insights into the way others live
their lives and how the world functions in general. Books enable us to take in
the wisdom of past generations and to experience situations way beyond our own
space and time. Books give us the opportunity to walk in another’s shoes and
hopefully develop greater understanding of and empathy for others. Books may
help us understand spiritual things better too and be drawn closer to God in
the process. And books may comfort or encourage us as we relate closely to what
we read and realise we are not alone. Someone else out there understands where
we are at and their voice reaches out to us through those words they have
written.
On a somewhat more mundane level, books increase our
vocabulary and our ability to communicate well via the written word. Books
entertain us, perhaps even providing a way to rest or relax and escape for a
while into another whole world. On the other hand, books can keep our minds
alert, intriguing us with tricky plot twists or challenging us with new and
deep thoughts that cause us to grow and become better people in some way.
Books can contain so many rich treasures, waiting for us to
discover—precious and semi-precious gems of infinite variety and value. What a
privilege as writers to be able to add our own unique creations to this
literary treasure trove and to be given the opportunity to touch someone else’s
life through our words, be they many or few. May we never take our writing for
granted but stay close to God each day, receiving that true inspiration we all
need as we apply ourselves to those works in progress.
Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives
in Sydney, Australia. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has
worked as a high school teacher, editor and secretary, as well as in local
church ministry. Jo-Anne is passionate about touching hearts and lives through
both the written and spoken word. She is the author of six published novels and
one non-fiction work, Soul Friend: the story of a shared spiritual journey.
Jo-Anne is married to a retired minister and has three grown-up children and
four grandchildren. For more information, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com.
