Anne Lamott

Today I started reading Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott. I cried, sighed, smiled, and praised God with each word, line and page. Here are some of my favorite passages:

"All those years, i feel for the great palace lie that grief should be gotten over as quickly as possible and as privately. But what I've discovered since is tha tthe life long fear of grief keeps us in a barren, isolated place and that only grieving can heal grief; the passage of time will lesson teh acuteness, but time alone, without the direct experience of grief will not heal it."

"I'm pretty sure that it is only by experiencing that ocean of sadness in a naked and immediate way that we come to be healed-which is to say that we come to experience presence and spaciousness and peace."

I love her thoughts on the intersection between pain, faith, and joy. I guess it is because the three have been colliding in my life these past few months. James was right to say that we are to "consider it joy when we encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance."

There are many moments in life when we crack. The cracks spread like spiderwebs. But only then can the light shine through. When we are broken, desperate, and willing to love and be loved. To forgive and be forgiven. It's not crazy to love Jesus. It's crazy to not accept His love.

I will end on that note.