I have just received an unexpected gift: a collection of personal writings stored carefully away by a friend. These were written by several of us who've looked together into what it means to live in this world as "cloistered hearts." For a number of years we mailed monthly/bi-monthly/quarterly newsletters to 100-200 kind souls, sent missives back and forth to one another, and shared prayers and issues and ideas.
This tidy bundle, filled as it is with thoughts and prayers and quotes, is like a newly unearthed treasure. Nearly forgotten bits of inspiration strike me now as fresh and energizing and new, and I cannot keep them to myself. So - over a period of time, probably interspersed with more "current" reflections - I will be sharing bits and pieces here, with you.
Just flipping through a few pages, I find myself "voicing new amens" to little gems like these...
"We are in danger of forgetting what we are. The world around shall see us as part of it when really we are not part of it, and we shall be tempted to see ourselves as the world sees us..." (1995)
"Have we ever spoken the Name of Jesus (aloud or silently) and found our hearts suddenly lifted from the circumstances around us? As if a little door into Heaven popped open and we were allowed a swift glimpse inside?" (2006)
'It is easier for me to surrender to God the earth-shaking, freedom endangering issues of the world than it is for me to surrender the simple, everyday issues of my family life." (date uncertain)
Painting: George Phoenix, The Grandmother's Wardrobe, in US public domain due to age
Nancy,
ReplyDeleteI am so grateful that you will be sharing these bits and pieces. There are many of us, myself included, who feel so at home in the presence of the Lord, but life responsibilities get in the way and distract us. Your posts and now these excerpts center me each day. Thank you very much.
God bless you,
Maureen
Thank you, Maureen!
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