How to Endure the Winter Cold
"Someone once asked St. Francis how he protected himself from the piercing cold of winter when his clothing was so poor, and he answered fervently, 'If our hearts are on fire with longing for our heavenly home, we will have no trouble enduring this outer cold.'" --St. Bonaventure, Major Life, 5:2
I recently watched a video by Andy Stanley in which he says people who are in physical or emotional pain will naturally be self-absorbed so they must give themselves time to heal before they make important decisions. When self-absorbed, one cannot think with clarity. Francis is showing us that this works in the other direction, too. If our thinking/focus is on the One who endures all, our attention will be on Him instead of ourselves. I know this to be true because the last time I was ill with a stomach virus and awoke during the night in a great deal of pain, I put my focus on God and was soon back to sleep. If I'd lain there focused on how I felt, the pain would have kept me awake.
"Someone once asked St. Francis how he protected himself from the piercing cold of winter when his clothing was so poor, and he answered fervently, 'If our hearts are on fire with longing for our heavenly home, we will have no trouble enduring this outer cold.'" --St. Bonaventure, Major Life, 5:2I recently watched a video by Andy Stanley in which he says people who are in physical or emotional pain will naturally be self-absorbed so they must give themselves time to heal before they make important decisions. When self-absorbed, one cannot think with clarity. Francis is showing us that this works in the other direction, too. If our thinking/focus is on the One who endures all, our attention will be on Him instead of ourselves. I know this to be true because the last time I was ill with a stomach virus and awoke during the night in a great deal of pain, I put my focus on God and was soon back to sleep. If I'd lain there focused on how I felt, the pain would have kept me awake.
I really needed this now...it is just perfect to turn to God in all I am doing but especially for me was the act if one is in emotional stress not to make decisions...wow..that is huge."..One cannot think clearly." Now am in greif over selling my beloved home..one in which I put God first, in it..my son healed, and hubby left me while he did..and I turned it into a B and B...loved it each bush I planted and the gardens, and murals of bircheso n the walls ..not fancy in any way, but it was me. who I am the essence of our Father..divine Love. So... here I am now...in this situation of grief...and it is cold here too right now so my heart better be with God in front of it...or I goof up, I do not communicate right and then become afraid and slip backwards. So...on GOD with FULL consciousness...to the best of my ability----smiles merri
ReplyDeleteDear Merri, I am praying for you as I read the words from your heart, confident that God is behind the scene.....I wrote a devotional in 2003, posted on-line in 2011 and am reposting on my Facebook page every day. As I read today's your situation kept coming to mind so I wanted to share it with you: http://cathy-freedominchrist.blogspot.com/2011/02/february-21.html (you will have to copy and paste it since links don't work in comments). If you have not read any of Hannah Whitall Smith's books I urge you to. Your library might have some of her books. Then Facebook notified me of posts I've made in the past on today's date and this one showed up one of my other blogs: http://cathy-anotherperfectday.blogspot.com/2012/02/losing-control-part-ii.html I hope it will be the encouragement you need right now to see this huge life change as the beginning of something new and wonderful. The video at the end of that post is the same as the one in the sidebar of this blog. It has been one of the "theme songs" for MY journey. ❤️
ReplyDelete