“The comedy of grace is that it so often comes to us as loss, sorrow, and foul-smelling waste…. It is easy to be attracted to the idea of grace–which one dictionary defines as ‘divine love and protection bestowed freely on people’–but much harder to recognize this grace when it comes as pain and unwelcome change…. For grace to be grace, it must give us things we didn’t know we needed and take us to places where we didn’t want to go.”  Kathleen Norris

“Call the world if you please, the ‘vale of soul-making.’ Then you will find out the use of the world.” John Keats

“The mystics simply open their souls to the oncoming wave.” Henri Bergson

“Very truly I tell you, when you were younger
you dressed yourself and went where you wanted;
but when you are old you will stretch out your hands,
and someone else will dress you
and lead you where you do not want to go.”
Jesus, to Peter about his death, in John 21:18

Moving From the Head to the Heart

• We often romanticize lofty terms like “love”, “grace” or “hope.” Have you sanitized these words so they represent only pleasant, satisfying experiences?
• Have you realized that grace can come to you “as loss, sorrow, and foul-smelling waste?” Are you willing to accept that kind of grace?
• Can you “simply open your soul to the oncoming wave” as you trust God to use this sometimes foul-smelling world at the “vale of soul-making” for you?

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For More: Acedia and Me by Kathleen Norris