Man reunited with Bible months after losing it

At the beginning of the year, William Bailey lost his Bible when it fell off his car before going to church one Wednesday night. Almost five months later, Bailey received a phone call from his pastor, telling him that his Bible that was lost was now found. 

On Tuesday, Bailey met Barbara James at her house to thank her for reuniting him with his Bible that he had lost in January. 

“It had been missing for a while,” Bailey said. “I had to speak on a (January) Wednesday night and I had it all in the Bible, and thankfully I had it in my head, too. We were getting ready to leave, and I sat (the Bible) on top of my car and my granddaughter called and wanted me to come back inside the house for something.”

Bailey and his wife, Dot, were in a hurry, so they jumped into their car and drove to the church not thinking about the Bible. 

“We got to church, got out and I thought I had forgotten my Bible,” Bailey said.

He used Dot’s Bible and was able to deliver the message. Afterwards, they searched for Bailey’s Bible and prayed for it to be found.

“This Bible has been prayed over,” Bailey said. “We looked for it. I drove all the way to Cedar Grove, pulling off and getting out to look. We never did find it. I was sick about it, and I thought I would never see it again. At the same time, I told my wife that I hope whoever found it got some good out of it.”

Once the grass was cut in that area, Bailey just knew his Bible was somewhere in pieces. 

“I had basically resigned myself to the fact that it was gone,” Bailey said.

But it was not gone. It had been found on property that James owns south of Dublin. Her grandson, Barron Howard Jr., told his father about a Bible he had found in the driveway as he was getting ready to go to work.

“He assumed it was (his grandmother’s) or somebody that had some affiliation with us,” Barron Howard Sr. said. “I told him to give me the Bible.” 

He went it through it but did not see a name or information in it to determine whom it belonged to. Eventually the Bible came to James, who asked to see it. It was important for her to return this Bible to the owner. 

“I put myself in the place of the owner,” she said. “If I lost my Bible, I would really want it back. I would hope that whoever found it would go the extra steps to find it and get it back to me. I just couldn’t rest. I worked on it a while, and I couldn’t get anywhere so I put it down. After a while, I would tell someone to bring me the Bible.” 

James eventually found a side of the Bible cover that had a zipper she had  previously overlooked. She saw notes and a brochure that led her to Faith Baptist Church.  

“I read a few notes and I said, ‘God, I don’t know whose this is, but I’m sure they want this Bible back,’” James said. “I found the church brochure, and I called the pastor.” 

The pastor was able to confirm that Bailey had lost a Bible and had been looking for it for a long time.

“He told me that I needed to call Barbara James, because she had my Bible and he gave me her number,” Bailey said. “I had accepted the fact that it was gone and I would never see it again.”

On June 20, the Bible was taken to Dublinair Nursing Home, where Dot works. 

“When we were called and told she had it, we knew there were good samaritans in this world,” Dot said. “A lot of people wouldn’t have took the time to try to find out who it belong to. They would have put it aside, kept it or maybe trashed it. We appreciate her for going the extra mile and to do what she did.” 

Inside were sermon notes and a message Bailey had preached at a man’s funeral last December.

“That’s sentimental stuff to me,” Bailey said. “I thank the Lord that I got it back.”

Bailey handed a financial gift to James for returning the Bible. “I thank you so much,” Bailey said.

Added James, “All I wanted was your prayers.”

She also received a song. Bailey, who is a choir director, sang “He Looked Beyond My Faults,” by The Rambos. She praised God as Bailey sang. 

“You don’t know what kind of joy it gave me to know that I can say this happened,” James said. “It gave me a joy that I found the person it belonged to and was able to return it to you. It obviously meant to you what I expected it to mean. I’m so glad you got it back.”