AUTOGRAPHED

I'm not an autograph-collector, but when I heard that Edith Schaeffer was to speak at my Bible college's weekly assembly, I grabbed my copy of her book Hidden Art and took a seat in the front row. What a privilege to see and hear a woman who with her husband, Francis, carved an indelible place in groundbreaking Christian apologetics. She also brought dignity to the simple arts: of personal pleasure in music, art, gardening, hospitality and homemaking. As the assembly ended, with unusual boldness on my part, I hurried up on the stage with my copy of her book, the cover open and pen in hand. She knew what that meant, smiled, and signed it. That was it. I faded away as others came behind me.

This was the late 1970s when the apologetics ministry of their Swiss compound L'Abri was becoming internationally known. Francis rose to worldwide prominence as a defender of the faith against existentialism and liberal theology. L'Abri welcomed spiritual seekers who jammed the alpine site. Her visit to my campus in 1977 was a big deal. Francis would die of cancer in 1984; Edith would live to 98, dying in 2013. This was one of her twenty books.

Whenever I open that book and see her handwriting, I'm reminded of something else: that we represent the handwriting of God on this planet. Yes, “handwriting” is a metaphor, but it's found in the Bible, as in Isaiah 49. There, through the prophet, God says He will never forget his people, any more than a loving mother forget the baby she nurses. It goes on:

See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.(v. 16)

These days, people short on paper might ink a reminder on the hands, to be washed out later. But here the Hebrew word describes cutting--something more permanent. God has permanently autographed His hand with my name.

To look at it another way, most authors are glad to sign books they have written. I had the privilege of having several Christian living books published about patience, encouragement, and trusting God in life's hard places. When I spoke somewhere, I took books along—as most speakers do—and people asked me to sign them, usually with a “to” somebody before my name. I was glad to do so, identifying myself with the message.

Here's the bigger truth: each of us begins as a blank book. Our thoughts and actions –good and bad--fill their pages. The book that Edith Schaeffer autographed celebrated God's amazing works in the ordinary processes of life. She explored creativity and creation with robust thanksgiving to God. As I went through an emotionally and creative “lean” time in my life, I needed its encouragement for my own future with God.

As a new year opens, maybe that's the message many of us need. We're encouraged to put off the old past and embrace a new future: “Forgetting what is behind...straining toward what is ahead” in God's plan  (Phil. 4:13). We're given a blank book. What fills it up this year depends on each of us—and whose Name we choose to inscribe on its cover as the co-Author.

P.S. In researching “autographs,” I came across this site by a sports card collector. He featured sports personalities whose collector cards included a favorite Bible verse. What a way to witness!

Bible Verses on Autographs - TTM Autograph - Through The Mail Autograph Collecting