“May God protect me from gloomy saints.” (Saint Teresa of Avila).
My children like to garden. They collect seeds from the scraps on the kitchen bench as I prepare meals and they ferret them away and use those seeds to see what they can grow.
My eldest son in particular invests a lot of time into researching the different ways that seeds can germinate. He has managed to grow quite a few interesting things from seeds that started out on the kitchen bench. He is growing a mulberry tree, a few apple trees, an avocado tree, a nectarine tree and even a chestnut trees.
The other day I went to have a look at all his trees, which he is taking care of in his little nursery on the side of our house, and it occurred to me that these seeds are like faith.
You see, the seeds of faith are suffering. When we suffer, we are provided with an opportunity to have faith in God that in His Holy wisdom He has allowed this suffering so that we can grow in faith and trust in Him.
This is because the tree that grows from these seeds of suffering is faith. And when we have faith, the we can have fruit of that tree, and the fruits of suffering and faith are peace and joy.
And this is what God Himself tells us… “Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way where I am going. Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me.’” (John 14:1-6).
You see Christ did not say that we would never have worries or that we would never suffer. Rather, He said, “Let not your hearts be troubled…” He did not promise that there would be no troubles, rather He promised that when the troubles came we should believe in Him.
And that faith – living a faith that believes in God and in the power of Christ to help us through our troubles – means that Saints are not gloomy. Saints are joyful no matter their sufferings… Saint Teresa of Avila said, “May God protect me from gloomy saints.”
And I have been thinking about that today as I consider the small troubles in my own life. You see, it seems a wonderful blessing indeed to be able to turn to God Himself during my troubled times. And knowing that, I know that I can only have joy in my heart…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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