"God showed me something small, no bigger than a hazelnut, lying in the palm of my hand… and it was round as a ball. I looked at it with the eye of my understanding and thought: 'What can this be?' And it was generally answered thus: 'It is all that was made.' It was so small I thought it might disappear, but I was answered... everything has being through the love of God." --Julian of Norwich

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Thankful Thought(s) #5

Lack of sleep is making me feel a million years old today.  Phew.  But this week I'm thankful for:

1) Our church Home Group Bible study.  On Monday night, C watched the baby so I could go be with our friends and it was so good.  I'm especially thankful for their prayers and encouragement and tangible help to us in the past few months since L arrived.  Worth more than gold!

2) A healthy baby.  L is in the 97th percentile for height and weight... making her the size of an average nine month old.  She has no major health issues and is growing so well!  Up until two weeks ago, she's always been a champion sleeper as well, and I know those days will come again.

3) George MacDonald.  I've been reading his novels when L keeps me up at night (or at least the Bethany House abridged versions--my tired brain can't handle the Scottish dialogue of the original editions at this stage of the game).  They're so wonderfully Victorian as well as theologically wise.  The plots are pretty funny (Romance! Romanticism! Occult! Intrigue!), but the characters are really staying with me.  Especially the wise mentors.  MacDonald really believes in a theology of perpetual growth... that salvation is not some "ticket to heaven" or the relief that we're "frozen chosen" (he was not a fan of rigid Scottish Calvinism), but it is a slow and gradual growth that makes us stronger and better persons--more loving and giving and good (think: C.S. Lewis's The Great Divorce).  Good stuff.

No comments:

Post a Comment