The Bookmark

As an avid reader, I have innumerable bookmarks. Some are fancy, some are simple, some are whatever I happen to have lying around when I want to make a note without dog-earring a page. (Transit cards or receipts are especially handy – and readily available - when travelling!)

My collection of bookmarks is eclectic, as so many of them have been gifts from dear ones. (Always a thoughtful token for a book lover!) They encapsulate not only the aspects of my life that have resonated in someone else’s mind, but also serving as an ongoing souvenir of the relationship.

Bookmarks, we know, serve to pause the story that’s being read, so the reader can then re-engage at the precise spot, to continue the story. There are times when the bookmark may fall out if too loosely placed, or (as is so often my case) a bedtime reading leads to my eyes closing before the book does.

If the bookmark isn’t placed, then the continuation can be confusing: the right spot has to be found, sometimes leading to re-reading quite a bit. With my falling-asleep-while-reading, sometimes my mind has filled in some storylines that aren’t quite accurate (I recall once being quite perplexed that a Tragically Hip concert had taken place in The Lord of the Rings…)

All that aside: the marking of a place with the intention to return to it carries significance beyond our reading habits. We can make notes about physical spaces we wish to return to, aware that they are part of our story: be it a once-in-a-lifetime place like an engagement location, or a weekly visit like our favourite pew.

We can identify emotional spaces that we wish to return to; like the emotions that rise up when we drive past our old high school, or the feeling of hugging a loved one.

And there are spiritual places that we can mark to come home to: the psalm that calms our frazzled nerves, the community that gathers around the common table, the sound of the hymn that awakens our spirit.

So often, as life gets busy, our story goes in a different direction that what we may have wished for. What a blessing to be able to mark a spot – with something meaningful – to allow us to come back when we have the time and energy.

What part of your story is currently bookmarked, waiting for your return?