Quotes and Such

My journal, these days, contains nearly as many quotes from others as it does thoughts from my own mind. I chronicle them partly because I want to remember how they helped me along this path I walk, and partly because I find them to be far more eloquent than my own words. My words are, at best, bumbling and littered with stuttering. It’s one thing to stutter out loud. To incorporate it into the written word is a whole different level of incoherence.

I told you last week I’ve been reading Angie Smith’s book, I Will Carry You. I’ve almost finished it; It’s littered with underlined phrases – most of which were copied into my journal. These two, that I want to share with you today, are words Henri Nouwen wrote, and Angie quoted.

“Our choice, then, often revolves around not what has happened or what will happen to us, but how we will relate to life’s turns and circumstances. Put another way: ‘Will I relate to my life resentfully or gratefully?’”

“Our glory is hidden in our pain, if we allow God to bring the gift of Himself into our experience of it. If we turn to God, not rebelling against our hurt, we let God transform it with greater good. We let others join in and discover it with us.”

These are the things I would write in the journal if I had my own eloquence. Since I don’t, I’m thankful for what others can contribute so I can, in turn, consider.

To not rebel against pain is, I would say, unnatural. Pain is…well, uncomfortable, at best. And yet it’s also an incredible marker of growth . To be able to look back at the beginning of the pain and see how it frightened, consumed, and overwhelmed…and then to look at this day and see change is comforting. To see even a sliver of improvement…is a blessing.

The key word (for me) in that second quote is “let.” Let God transform the experience.
Letting God do His work…means being still…and knowing He is God. And being still means I might feel more pain. But if letting Him work means He can transform and bring the greater good, how can I want anything else?