Having come from a long line of librarians, I appreciate this!
February
is Library Lovers Month
At Home in the
Library
By Gerry Wakeland
If you asked me to
describe my dream home, without pause I'd respond, "My dream home would be an
old vacant library where I would remove all the fixtures except the bathroom and
the bookshelves and then I'd move my bed and desk into the center and start
filling the shelves with my books." At which point you would stare at me
quizzically.
My love affair with
books and the library began as a child and continues to this very day. I
remember as an
elementary student
begging my mother to take me to the library. She'd pull up to the curb in front
and let me out, reminding me she would be back in an hour. Every time, I'd race
up three sets of steps, fling open the double doors, run inside and stop. I
would stand perfectly still and inhale the fragrance of the books. True
love.
The library was my
refuge. It provided a safe and silent haven from the noise and chaos of my home.
But more than that, it opened doors for me, doors to the past, doors to the
future, doors of adventure, and doors of romance, most importantly doors of
wisdom.
I learned so much at
the library. I learned that as a woman I could be brave and bold like Amelia
Earhart or save lives like Florence Nightingale or Clara Barton. I could write
poetry like Elizabeth Barrett Browning or books like Jane Austen. The library
gave me hope!
Over the years I have
continued to be a library patron. Sometimes I take my laptop and head to the
library to work on a project. With the world at my fingertips, both digitally
and in hard copy, I can research any topic to my heart’s content. Hardly a
Saturday goes by that you cannot find me at some point in the day at the local
library, perusing the new arrivals for the week.
Or sometimes I just
sit quietly in one of the easy chairs wishing that the books could talk and
wondering what they would say if they could tell the stories behind the
stories.
I may never have the
unusual, almost bizarre, home of my dreams. But the library is still my refuge,
affording me a place that’s safe and silent, where dreams are born and hope
exists.
Gerry Wakeland is
the President and CEO of CLASSEMINARS, Inc. She loves helping Christian
communicators identify their passion, clarify their vision and define their
mission so that they can articulate God’s message effectively. Gerry is the
mother of two grown daughters and grandmother to three precious grandsons. She
makes her home in the land of enchantment, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her favorite
pastime is reading and one of her favorite places is the public library. In
March, the CLASS website will release news of the 2012 Christian Writers
Conference: www.classeminars.org. Come meet Gerry and the rest
of the CLASS faculty there!
