Faithful Lines / Shirley Vogler Meister

Lessons gained from reading The Year of the Jubilee

Sometime back, I began to read The Year of the Jubilee by Rita (Dodson) Griffin and published by Pleasant Word, a Division of The Wine Press Publishing Group. Then I set it aside for a while.

Recently, I continued reading the book. This time, so much of the poetry and prose spoke to me in a very special way.

I felt that God “spoke to me” through the author, who is the youngest of 10 children born and raised in Cartersville, Ga., a suburb of Atlanta.

As I read her reflections, I realized that she often quoted Scripture at the end of her poems.

That reminded me of years past when I realized the beauty of the Bible. My sister, Beverley, and I spent nearly a year reading the Bible from front to back.

Griffin notes Scripture at the end of some of her poems. Her prose and poetry are full of grace—the grace of God working within her soul.

Abigail Davidson, the publisher’s contact, noted that in biblical times every 50 years was observed as a Jubilee Year, a celebration of freedom and rejuvenation.

When Griffin celebrated her 50 years of life, she noted: “God is a peaceful haven, a place where I can find rest for my soul. … I want others to know the freedom found in serving God and for them to experience a renewed freshness of a newfound joy in living.”

I thought back to the time when I turned 50, but recalled nothing significant.

Then it dawned on me that—after returning to college in 1979, and finally graduating in the spring of 1986—that year truly was significant, only I turned 40.

If it hadn’t been for knowing Griffin through her book, I probably never would have considered my 40th year as significant.

During that time, I also steadily grew in faith.

Griffin is a housewife and mother who now lives in Rome, Ga., another suburb of Atlanta, with her husband, William, and their sons, Tristan and Christopher.

She loves to write, travel with her family, meet people and study the Bible. She also is a prayer intercessor with Breakthrough Intercessors and Moms-In-Touch.

The book’s back cover notes that her work is “a colorful array of words inspired by an everlasting love for God.” How true!

The publisher can be contacted at P.O. Box 428, Enumclaw, WA 98022 or by phone at 360-802-9758.

(Shirley Vogler Meister, a member of Christ the King Parish in Indianapolis, is a regular columnist for The Criterion.) †