"everything helps me to God"From
a book I've been reading on and off since January, in between grad school, teaching, sleepless nights, etc...
"everything helps me to God"
If we're to find hope when everything we've lived for is taken away, if we're to move on with peace and purpose when our hearts are broken by indescribable pain, or when they quietly ache with regret and missed opportunity, we must rescue Paul's teaching and de Caussade's restatement from this usual status as cliches. "All things work together for good" and "Everything helps me to God" are statements that must no longer be regarded as biblical mantras for pious folks to utter when they want to deaden pain...
I wonder how Paul or John or de Caussade would direct Naomi to God. I don't think any one of them would throw Bible verses at her and expect instant faith and obedience. And none would say that what happened to her was good. It was not good. It was bad. But in God's hands, it could advance something very good. As wise spiritual directors, they would encourage movement along an unyieldingly narrow path; they would direct Naomi to the next step on a long journey.
Impatient Westerners prefer quick sanctification. Take your car to the shop and drive it again the next day. Bring your soul to a counselor or pastor and get fixed right away.
But wisdom understands that souls are not broken machines that experts fix. Wisdom knows the deep workings of the hungry, hurting, sin-inclined soul and patiently follows as the Spirit moves quietly in those depths, gently nudging people toward God.
There is no Concorde that flies us from immaturity to maturity in a few hours. There is only a narrow, bumpy road where a few people walk together as they journey to God.
-from "Shattered Dreams: God's Unexpected Path Toward Joy" by Larry Crab |
.:.
Chinese adoptee follow-upA few weeks ago, I posted a link to a NY Times
article about Chinese adoptees that caught my eye.
Since then, I was fortunate enough to read an excellent commentary on the article on this blog,
Twice the Rice. I thought Korean American adoptee and writer, Ji-in, wrote a personal and more than fair account of her opinions and experiences, but surprise, surprise... someone posted the blog entry on an adoptive parent (a-parent) forum/BBS and it unleashed a rather
heated torrent of comments from a-parents who probably never considered the racist, sexist, and culturally insensitive circumstances that surround the issues of trans-racial and trans-national adoption.
Anybody interested in the original article should definitely check out the
discussions happening there.
GRATEFUL TODAY FOR: Books, the ability to read, stereo headphones
posted by G at 11:53 PM |
