(More) Moments With Living Books

Sometimes I wonder if anyone enjoys homeschooling as much as I do! I love learning along with my children. I love sharing my days with them. I love watching them grow. I love discovering new things. I love the surprise of uncovering a treasure in a “living book”! (Reminder: A “living book” is one that is rich in ideas and literary language.)

Here’s a recent treasure uncovered while reading Genevieve Foster’s Abraham Lincoln’s World:

It was the mid 1830’s, and four Nez Perce Indians from Oregon had traveled eastward seeking the white man’s Book of Heaven. At the end of a 2000-mile journey, they came to St. Louis, where they were warmly received by General William Clark (of the Lewis and Clark expedition) and his men. They spent the winter there, and were lavishly “wined and dined”, so to speak,

...but they were disappointed. At the farewell dinner in the spring, one of the Nez Perce rose and addressed the company.

“I came to you over the trail of many moons from the setting sun. My people sent me to get the white man’s Book of Heaven. You took me to where you allow your women to dance, as we do not ours: and the Book was not there! You took me to where they worship the Great Spirit with candles and incense, and the Book was not there. You make my feet heavy with gifts, and yet the Book is not among them! I came with an eye partly open for my people who sit in darkness. How can I go back blind to my blind people? I have no more words.”

Isn’t that poignant?

"The book was not there."

We began by learning history; we discovered a treasure.

Here within the pages of our history book, we were saddened by the disappointment of the men who had come to find truth and did not find it. We were inspired to look through spiritual eyes in our interactions with people...and not be so ready to offer them entertainment or earthly treasure, when their hearts are searching for eternal treasure.