Casting ourselves on Him

"If man cannot trust in his own goodness to discover God, then perhaps his weariness will cast him into His Bosom." (from "Peace of Soul," by Fulton J. Sheen)

This sentence pierced my heart as I read it yesterday.  I came across the book by Fulton Sheen in our church "library" (really, a cart on wheels) during my son's piano lessons a couple weeks ago.  Every time I pick up the book, I am struck by the simple way Sheen shares some very deep truths.

I think the above sentence spoke to me because, as a result of my recent miscarriage, and some other struggles our family has faced over the past year, "weariness" is a good word for describing how I have often felt lately.  I have also, however, seen God bring great fruit from these trials.  I wonder why it is suffering that allows God to work some rather remarkable transformations in my heart. Suffering seems to help Him release my heart's grip on certain vices I have clung to for a lifetime.

Perhaps taking away the foundation we think we have built on some of the wordly things around us -- health, material wealth, people's good opinions, pride -- is God's surest way of helping some of us "cast (ourselves) into His Bosom."  When we rest there, we rest on a true foundation -- on one that will never fail.

I rest there now, and consider how little all of those other things seem, in light of the greatness of His Love.

I think my husband and I both have been given great gifts this year, in that we each have faced the loss of our health for a time, as well as its restoration.  In each experience, it was a chance for me, at least, to contemplate our mortality.  This helped me see how needless all the fears are that I have held on to through the years.  When you get right to the heart of the matter -- when you realize you may be asked to let go of one of the things that REALLY mean the most -- you hopefully see that God is there.  He is there -- and if you have been seeking Him with an earnest heart, you will see that.

Recently, I have seen that.

Where He is, there is peace, no matter what the circumstance.  In knowing you are walking a path laid out for you by the One who loves you most, and that He will undoubtedly use it for good, there can even be joy.

So if you are asked to let go of some of that not-as-important stuff (the health, material wealth, people's good opinions, and pride I mentioned), even though you don't completely understand, you can say "Yes", and you can let go with joy because you know He wouldn't ask you to let go if He didn't have something better to take its place.

And if that Something Better actually is more room for Him -- you realize you have seriously won in this trade, and This is the One Thing of which you never want to let go.