"I decided that the greatest cross would be to be without these crosses. Every time the crosses stopped for a brief time, I saw that I had not used them well, missing out on advantages to my soul by not responding properly. I could not reconcile these two opposite things: to desire the crosses for their advantages; to bear them when they caused so much difficulty and pain. Gradually I understood that experiencing crosses was more profitable than living a life that abounded with blessing. Without crosses, the soul never dies to itself. Blessings lead to self-love, which is crafty and dangerous by how it is woven into everything we do." Madame Guyon
"If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength!" Proverbs 24:10
Consider it PURE JOY when you endure trials of many kinds. It is so easy to be joyful when life is good and when things are going well, and it is even easy to say then that I will continue to be joyful if things get difficult. But that shows how little I know myself! It has been interesting to read the story of a remarkable woman who lived in France in the seventeenth century, Madame Guyon. She faced trials and persecution almost constantly throughout her life, yet her attitude was so unusual in that she accepted whatever came her way as being God's will and plan and so had a peace about it. Everything should be for the glory of God- even the struggles.
Lambing was not much fun as it turned out. After the first week, I was desperate to leave and just existing until I could do that. Instead of rejoicing, I despaired. Instead of glorifying God in it, I put Him on hold and forgot. But even so, I did learn a lot from being there. And not just about how to lamb sheep! I learnt (again) that you can never know what is going on in a person's life and what stuff they are coping with. We need to deal with each other with the same grace that we have been shown. I learnt that it is easier to argue with someone speaking foolishly than to hold your tongue (Proverbs 26:4-5). I learnt that sheep are the most stupid animals. I learnt that a lot of people live with a lot of regret.
A few more quotes from Madame Guyon:
"God gives what is best for us, though not always what we most wish for. We are called to enjoy God himself and not merely His gifts. Otherwise we spend our lives running after happy little moments, feeding on them instead of God."
"How we pass the time treasuring God's gifts and thinking ourselves happy. We must not stop there, short of true rest, but go forward to God himself- through the loss of those cherished gifts."
"The gifts God gives us do not make us good servants unless we use them with deep humility. Dying to ourselves is more beneficial."
"Devotion to God grows out of pain and weariness. When God builds His sacred temple within us, He first razes our pompous self, and from its ruins He forms a new structure."
"I realized I tried to acquire by my own efforts what I could have only by ceasing from all effort."
