All will be well

I chanced upon a little gem of a devotional book at a discount shelf of a favorite bookstore recently. Over the years, I have found that books sometimes catch my attention at just the right time. This book I have dipped into over the past two weeks is titled "All will be well", daily readings based on the writings of Julian of Norwich. Sometimes, when prayer and meditation on Scripture seems arid, when God seems far away, when prayer is full of distractions and thoughts just cannot be 'reined in' to focus on the passage at hand, such simple devotional gems bring the heart just that bit closer to a sense of quiet and rest in the Lord. Day fourteen's reading:

Our life in this world consists of a wondrous mixture of good and bad. We contain within us both our risen Lord Jesus Christ, as well as the misery and woe of Adam's sin. Protected by Christ, although dying, we are touched by his grace and raised to hope of salvation. Afflicted by Adam's fall, as well as our own sinfulness and woe, we feel so benighted and blinded that we can scarcely find any comfort. But in our hearts we trust in God, and hope in his mercy and grace; for they are truly at work in us. And our good God opens the eye of our understanding so that we might see, sometimes more, sometimes less, according to the ability God gives us to receive it. Now we are raised up to one, now allowed to fall to the other. And this fluctuation is so confusing that we hardly know where we stand, whether we consider ourselves or our fellows.

But what a marvelous confusion!

And it continues throughout our life.

But God wants us to trust that he is always with us.

He accompanies us in three ways:

in heaven, where in his rising he raises us up with him; on earth, where he leads us days by day; and in our innermost being, where he constantly dwells to guide and preserve us.

And this is our comfort,

that we know in faith

that Christ is constantly with us,

so that we never succumb to the pain and woe

but always hope for another glimpse of his presence.