Whingy Su

This morning I was looking at the story of Elijah when he fled from Jezebel. I was focusing on I Kings 19:7 where the angel of the Lord came a second time and said, “Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.”

How often do I find the journey too great for me? I think I am a very weak person, because I find myself thinking that more times than not!

Isn’t it ironic that I can take great courage in the fact of my own great weakness?

Amy Carmichael wrote, “We never reach the place where we pass beyond the compassion of our God. His compassions fail not; they are new every morning; never tiring of us, always strong for our help.” (Emphasis mine.)

I love the thought that His compassions never get tired of me. I get tired of myself! I try not to whine, or, as the Brits put it, whinge, but I think I am a born whinger. But His compassions are new every morning. They never get tired of Whingy Su.

I want to read more about the life of Julian of Norwich. She evidently faced physical difficulties, illness and pain. In the book Revelations of Divine Love it tells of the ¨fifteen shewings¨ that fell fair and steadily, each following another, gladdening her heart.

Yet after the fifteen shewings, ensued a period of silence and remission. “Suddenly all my body was fulfilled with sickness as it was afore. And I was as barren and as dry as if I never had comfort but little. And as a wretched creature I moaned and cried for feeling of my bodily pains and for failing of comfort, spiritual and bodily.”

At that point, God granted her these words of comfort: Thou shalt not be overcome.

“He said not: Thou shalt not be tempested, thou shalt not be travailed, thou shalt not be afflicted; but He said, Thou shalt not be overcome.”

I take courage in the fact that Julian of Norwich was a born whinger. She experienced supernatural comfort in the midst of trial. But, she also experienced the despair of silence in the midst of pain, comforted only with the promise, Thou shalt not be overcome.

God loves us and enjoys us, and He wills that we love and enjoy Him as we mightily trust in Him. That’s my prayer today.

May I mightily trust in You!

Celeste's Example - Seeking the Things Above

Squirrels!

"Set your mind on the things above, not on the things on earth; for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God." Colossians 3:2

Back in my college days I memorized the book of Colossians. It seems like the rest of my life I will spend trying to recapture those memorized verses! I just about have the first two chapters under my belt again, and I'm working on getting the third down.

On one of my Celestial walks this week, I was repeating the above verse when Celeste suddenly stopped in her tracks, her eyes fixed on the treetops.

Squirrels!

If Celeste has one passion in life, it is chasing squirrels. While we stroll the grounds of the Multiplication Center, she is constantly focusing on squirrels - listening for their sounds, watching for any unusual movement, sniffing and scanning the treetops.

Celeste is a perfect example of setting her eyes on the things above. My hope is that I might emulate her passion - not for squirrels, but for even more important things above!