A Sunday Morning Thought to Start the Week Off Right
As if on cue, I just finished a wonderful novel, The Father's Tale, by Michael O'Brien. It's over a thousand pages long and I finally completed reading it after getting up unusually early this morning. The final chapter included a passage I want to share with you to get this week off to a good start. Before I do, two observations:
First, while it takes some time to finish the book, it was well worth it. Like any work of this length and depth, various passages will particularly stand out more than others, depending on who you are and the state of your life as you read it. In that light, the passage I will share struck me sharply this morning, given the state of my life at the moment. Which brings me to the second point, the state of my life at the moment.
It's one of those times when work life and personal life have both erupted. The heat was turned up a couple of weeks ago, and kicked up another notch this past week. This week should continue in the same vein.
Typically, I tried at first to "handle" all this on my own. But by the grace of God, I fortunately turned quickly to my Father in Heaven, with the simplicity of a child. knowing that His Loving Hand will sustain me. Exactly how things will work out, I can only guess, although I'm prepared to do my part in fulfilling the duties of my state of life, with all diligence and charity (at least I pray for the grace to do so!).
Now the passage. The main character has gone through a series of dramatic life-changing events after leaving his home in a small town in Canada to search for his beloved son who inexplicably disappeared during his studies at Oxford University. Now, back home, thinking about the events of the previous 18 months, he is struck by this thought:
First, while it takes some time to finish the book, it was well worth it. Like any work of this length and depth, various passages will particularly stand out more than others, depending on who you are and the state of your life as you read it. In that light, the passage I will share struck me sharply this morning, given the state of my life at the moment. Which brings me to the second point, the state of my life at the moment.
It's one of those times when work life and personal life have both erupted. The heat was turned up a couple of weeks ago, and kicked up another notch this past week. This week should continue in the same vein.
Typically, I tried at first to "handle" all this on my own. But by the grace of God, I fortunately turned quickly to my Father in Heaven, with the simplicity of a child. knowing that His Loving Hand will sustain me. Exactly how things will work out, I can only guess, although I'm prepared to do my part in fulfilling the duties of my state of life, with all diligence and charity (at least I pray for the grace to do so!).
Now the passage. The main character has gone through a series of dramatic life-changing events after leaving his home in a small town in Canada to search for his beloved son who inexplicably disappeared during his studies at Oxford University. Now, back home, thinking about the events of the previous 18 months, he is struck by this thought:
He was not alone. His small life was seen by heaven, his labor and identity were within the plans of divine providence, and every good effort, no matter how obscure, had its effect in the world. Nothing was wasted.You have to read the novel to get the profound impact this had on the protagonist of the novel. As for me, the passage "appeared" this morning at just the right time. And so the week starts off right, by the grace of God.
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