“The strongest of all warriors are these two—Time and Patience.”
Leo Tolstoy
I had a habit in college. Rather than studying in the crowded main library, I rotated among the smaller departmental libraries scattered across campus. They were quieter, less distracting, and usually almost deserted. On any given evening, I could spread my books across an entire table without anyone interrupting me.
That night, I chose the physics library. It was exactly as I had hoped. Long rows of empty tables stretched beneath the fluorescent lights. The only sounds were the faint hum of the air conditioner and the occasional rustle of turning pages. I could see the darkness settling outside the tall windows as another Southern California evening slipped quietly into night.
Only one other student was there. I recognized him immediately. We had taken Japanese together. As I walked past the circulation desk, he looked up.
“You’re Paul, right?”
“Yeah.”
He smiled.
“I thought so.”
“You’re Jake?”
He nodded. For some reason, instead of continuing to my table, I stopped.
“Are you a physics major?”
He laughed. “No. Economics.”
He motioned around the nearly empty room. “I’m on work-study. I’m the evening library monitor.”
I looked around the room. “There can’t be more than two people in here.”
He grinned. “Exactly.”
“So they pay you to study?”
“Pretty much.”
I laughed. “Best campus job I’ve heard of.”
We exchanged a few more pleasantries before I found a table near one of the windows. Within minutes I was absorbed in my own studies. The hours slipped by unnoticed. Eventually I stood to stretch my legs. As I wandered past the circulation desk, I noticed Jake had finished studying. His economics textbook had been replaced by a well-worn Bible.
Without thinking, I spoke. “Reading the Bible?” I immediately realized I had stated the obvious.
He looked up from the page. “Yeah.”
Then he asked a question I wasn’t expecting. “Are you a Christian?”
I hesitated. “No…”
The word escaped before I could stop it. “I mean…”
I searched for a better answer. “Yes.”
Even to my own ears, it sounded confusing. Trying to explain myself, I added, “I believe all religions are paths to the same God.”
His expression never changed. He didn’t challenge me. He didn’t look surprised. He simply nodded.
“I see.”
After a brief pause, he asked, “Do you read the Bible?”
“Sure.” I smiled. “I read everything.” “The Bible. The Bhagavad Gita. The Buddhist sutras.”
I was quietly proud of how open-minded I had become. To me, truth wasn’t confined to one religion. Every faith contained pieces of the same divine reality.
Jake listened without interruption. Finally, he closed his Bible. “That’s good.”
Another pause.
“You should keep reading the Bible.”
That was all. No debate. No sermon. No attempt to convince me that I was wrong. Just one simple sentence.
I smiled politely. “Yeah. Maybe I will.”
That evening, I packed my books and walked back to my dorm convinced I had simply enjoyed a pleasant conversation with another student. I had no idea that our paths would continue to cross. Within a few weeks, we were sharing meals together. Within a few months, nearly every Sunday evening found me sitting in Jake’s dorm room, talking about God, the Bible, and Jesus Christ.
I couldn’t have known it then, but one quiet evening in an almost empty physics library had marked the beginning of one of the most important friendships of my life.
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
Psalm 119:105 (ESV)
#faith #trustinggod #christianity #jesuschrist #bible #seekinggodswill #truth #sanctification #godisincontrol #godhearsourprayers #salvation #providenceofGod #theemptylibrary #Proverbs16:9
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