Sonnenberg Family Blog

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Billy Graham Library

I visited the Billy Graham Library on a recent trip to Charlotte. The barn and silo entrance are symbollic of his upbringing on the "Graham Brothers" (Billy's dad and brother(s)') dairy farm not far from this location. The building is decorated with open beams, old horse carts, an old pick-up and other farm implements. Inside, we saw films from Billy's early years as a travelling evangelist, a re-creation of their living room, stories of Ruth's upbringing in China with missionary parents, and memorabilia from their lives and travels. A moving moment for me, if I understood it correctly, was a hand-written note attached to a sort of medal of honor from Queen Elizabeth which said in so many words, "I look forward to the day when I can cast my crown before Christ my Lord and pass on any honors I've received in this life to Him." The end of the free tour features a "dairy bar" cafe with more open beams and old-fashioned metal milk cans stacked high in the corner. Outside, not pictured off to the left, is the two-story brick home in which Billy grew up which was disassembled, moved and reassembled here. Off to the right in a beautiful grove of trees is the resting place of Ruth Bell Graham's body and her headstone. I felt very moved here as well. Next to it is a patch of green grass awaiting the headstone of her husband Billy.