Who in my land can ever forget the week that was, from the 19th to the 24th of November 2022?
A week of learning the earth-moving lesson that when the call to radical trust comes, one must walk blind. One must pray with the communion of saints for it will be almost impossible to hold on to prayer when the winds are tearing at you, and you will need the saints’ help. One must hope against hope, even as each passing hour brings news upon news, shattering and shattering everything within us.
A week that taught me that when we cross the Jordan, it is the tearing winds that we must beware.
For these are winds fed by an evil that abhors peace and hope. Each time we give up and give in to disappointment, we feed satan. And each time we feed satan, he raises the winds in violence against us, dashing us upon rocks, till we are no more.
Never feed satan, our angel lays the quiet caution into our hearts.
Oh, what a week! And the blessed angel led the way forward. Against the winds. Out of the gathering darkness.
We have crossed the Jordan to safety now, we have finally reached the shores. From days of the most violent of tumults to utter, absolute joy! Spring in Winter. As I close my eyes to draw breath, the old, old words from years back find me once more,
Cross the Jordan and you will find rest ~ St. Mary of Egypt
How true!
And now, il dolce far niente. The sweetness of doing nothing, St. Pio reminds me, his voice the freshness of spring in the gathering of winter’s cold.
Rest? But there’s so much to do.
And then, I see.
The geese are in the water now.
It is indeed time to rest.
writingonmyheart 
Hugs to you! There is a time and a season for everything. The world won’t end if you take time to stop and pray and be still to hear the voice of God,,,
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Ironically, that was the lesson I learned anew this time. I prayed endlessly but it didn’t disrupt my work. Just goes to show that if I could learn to prioritise prayer, in whatever form God calls for, life can go on wonderfully.
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Just this morning I was in church and the pastor told us to pray for the ability to ignore the craziness around us and to simply listen for God’s word and to trust that we can do what he tells us to do, even if it seems to make no sense. And now you are writing about the same thing…. It’s not always easy, but it helps to remember that God truly is in charge, and that we can always trust him! Hang in there, my friend!
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Your pastor is certainly on to something, Ann. He knows well that we can’t wait and hope for the winds beating at the world to fall still so that we can pray. We have to somehow learn to turn away from the madness of life and go inside the Heart of God. As I told someone else before this, the past week showed me that it’s something achievable. And if I could do it last week, I can certainly do it again.
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This post reminded me of the poem by William Wordsworth, “The world is too much with us.” With prayer and a calm spirit, we must trust God in all things, at all times. It is not easy to ‘rest in God’ and simply trust. Yet, it is the only way…
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I believe I learned something new about radical trust this time. I think we’re called to this trust…in different ways for different times. There have been times when I’ve sensed heaven go still and quiet while I beat and hammered at doors. No yielding did I sense until I calmed down and lay my head upon God’s knee.
But this time was so different, Linda. I felt as if our world was in the throes of a wild, feral storm. Each time I had work to get done or needed to rest, it seemed as if just turning away for a while brought one bad update after another. It necessitated a constant running to God to throw myself at His feet. You can be sure that there was nothing calm and serene about the way I prayed last week.
And yet, I sensed that there was no other way but this relentless begging and pleading.
All in all, it is not something that can be forgotten. Not the chain of events. And certainly not the lesson heaven taught me😁
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It is so wonderful that our Heavenly Father is always there for us. The storms in life can be so fierce. God is the only calm sea in the midst of our storms. Wherever we are and whatever is happening, He is right there. It is a great peace, a great joy. Even when we keep calling in the night again and again and again. He comforts us as we would a wailing two-year-old child. You know how a distraught child almost shudders when they cry so hard? God holds us then, in the midst of so much pain and hurt.
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Thanks, Linda. There are many people in pain the world over who would benefit greatly from what you’ve written here because when the pain is bad, it’s easy to forget that God is right there with us.
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Yes! We must remind each other and everyone that we can!
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💜💚
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