For the first few weeks of our present trial, our church had a box in the foyer into which the Grace family members were asked to put verses of Scripture on 3X5 cards, as well as notes of encouragement. In the stack of blessings that we brought home this weekend was a small purple envelope with no name on it. Inside that envelope was a treasure. Brittle, yellowed paper held words that greatly moved and inspired our family. The words are from the writings of a 16th century saint. Whoever gave us this treasure – thank you! Hopefully you will be as blessed as we have been – meditate on these words:
“Strive to see God in all things without exception, and acquaint yourself with Him. Acquiesce to His will with absolute submission. Do everything for God, uniting yourself to Him by a mere upward glance or by the overflowing of your heart toward Him.
“Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly, and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inward peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.
“Commend all to God, and then lie still and be at rest in His bosom. Whatever happens, abide steadfast in a determination to cling to Him, trusting in His eternal love for you; and if you find that you have wandered forth from His shelter, recall your heart quietly and simply.
“Maintain a holy simplicity of mind, and do not smother yourself with a host of cares, wishes, or longings, under any pretext.”
AMEN!
-Brad
3 comments:
Hello Linda and Brad,
I am Drew Peterson's mother writing to you from Charlotte, NC. I've had the privilege of hearing Brad speak at your church several times on my visits to Drew's family. Honestly, Linda, I'm not sure I had the pleasure of meeting you, but you are obviously an amazing woman and an inspiration to everyone. I just want you to know that you have friends in Charlotte praying for you!
I'm also writing to tell you about my neighbor who was diagnosed in November with lung cancer. She's a young mother (about 40) with two children, a boy 11 and a girl 8. She also has a strong faith in God with a beautiful Christian spirit. She remains hopeful but her prognosis is not good, because the cancer has spread to her hip and lower back, which causes her a lot of pain. She is currently taking chemotherapy. I thought perhaps you two would like to communicate. I hope you don't mind, but I gave her your blog address. In case she contacts you, her name is Pat Kitts. You can find her blog @ www.carepages.com. You just click on "Visit a Care Page," register as a first time user, then key in under "Care Page Name" with her code of pckitts.
I think that God selects those, who through their experience, will be a testimony to everyone they touch - that may be his purpose for all this.
Sincerely,
Kathy Sanders
those are INCREDIBLY wise words. My favorite part...
"Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly, and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inward peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset."
We would all do well to remember that.
Great words of wisdom, now if only I can remeber them tomorrow.... Thank you for sharing. It means so much.
Vickie
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