Trained to Beds of Roses

'Our master, 'the world,' has trained us to beds of roses - if we can afford them, or get credit for them. He has taught us to follow luscious waltz tunes and broken rules; he has loaded us with wasted hours, with muscles relaxed, and with flesh tender with indulgence.' (A Story of Courage, p.4)

Entering cloistered life is refusing to be mastered any longer by the world. It is turning ourselves over to another Master. This act of turning is what has long drawn me. Can I, a woman whose vocation is in the world, truly make such a turn?

I've asked that question for years now. Have I found the answer? I can only say: I am finding.

I consider these things today and ask myself:

- Do I identify with being 'trained to beds of roses?' What does this mean to me?
- What enchanting, mesmerizing 'tunes' of the world am I following?
- Am I emulating those (perhaps in the media) who make it seem okay to break God's rules?
- How am I wasting time? What steps can I take to change this?
- How are my prayer-muscles? What can I do to tone up my prayer life? 

'God trains.... to laws that cannot be broken; to a system that holds back from sin... to hours devoted to the good of the many... and to a sight which can see, whenever the spirit hungers and thirsts for it, Christ upon the cross, dying to save mankind.' (A Story of Courage, p.4)

Click this line for information about the book A Story of Courage.

Painting: Jan van Beers, In The Hammock


This post is part of our series 'A Story of Courage.' To continue in chronological order, click this line.