"My Son, I must be your Supreme and final end, if you desirest to be truly happy. Out of such purpose your affection shall be purified, which too often is sinfully bent upon itself and upon created things.
For if you seekest yourself in any matter, straightway you will fail within yourself and grow barren.
Therefore refer everything to Me first of all, for it is I who gave you all. So look upon each blessing as flowing from the Supreme Good, and thus all things are to be attributed to Me as their source.
We are making so many plans but we are confident that God is directing our steps.
The timing of this passage is not accidental. Le and Roger are in Cognac — a new city, a new region — making plans, exploring France, deciding what comes next. And Kempis says: refer everything to Me first of all. Not after you have made the plans. First. Before the plans. Before the decisions. Before the next destination.
And Le's note is the compass check that confirms the direction: we are making so many plans but we are confident that God is directing our steps. Proverbs 16:9 — the verse that has followed this journal since the buyer appeared at the door of an unlisted apartment. The plans are theirs. The direction is His. And the confidence is not in the plans. The confidence is in the Director.
Kempis warns: if you seek yourself in any matter, straightway you will fail within yourself and grow barren. The self at the center produces nothing. The self that refers everything to God as source — that self bears fruit. Because the source is Him, not her. Each blessing flowing from the Supreme Good. Cognac. The road. The motorhome. Roger. Jolie. The morning before dawn. Each one a blessing. Each one flowing. Each one to be attributed to Him.
It's been a long time since I've experienced such a profound renewal of faith and trust in God's providence. We truly sense the Lord is leading us in a new direction and we are so humbled by all this divine attention.
This testimony must be marked — because it is not a small thing. A profound renewal. Not a new faith — a renewed faith. The faith that was already there, already deep, already tested through decades of mornings — renewed. Made fresh. Made young again.
Kempis said on day one: kindle our hearts to zeal, as if each day were the first day of our conversion. And here, seventeen days later, the kindling has taken. The fire is not just burning — it is burning brighter than it has in a long time.
And the humility — so humbled by all this divine attention. Not proud of the renewal. Not claiming credit for the growth. Humbled. The soul that is being renewed knows she did not renew herself. The attention is divine. The direction is His.
Remember what Kempis promised on day fifteen: remember that still the light may return again. It returned. Not on her schedule. On His. And she was ready to receive it — because the mornings before dawn had prepared the ground. Seventeen days of Kempis — from Caldas da Rainha to Cognac, from a good life refreshes the mind to a profound renewal of faith — and the light is here.
From Me the humble and great, the poor and the rich, draw water as from a living fountain, and those who serve Me with a free and faithful spirit shall receive grace for grace.
But he who will glory apart from Me, or will be delighted with any good which lies in himself, shall not be established in true joy, nor shall be enlarged in heart, but shall be greatly hindered and thrown into tribulation.
Therefore you must not ascribe any good to yourself, nor look upon virtue as belonging to any man, but ascribe it all unto God, without whom man has nothing. I gave all, I will receive all again, and with great strictness require I the giving of thanks.
Kempis just described my experience — enlarged in heart. Not enlarged in mind or knowledge, in heart. I am profoundly grateful.
Le found the word Kempis buried between the warnings. Enlarged in heart. Not enlarged in mind. Not enlarged in knowledge. Not enlarged in skill or position or reputation. In heart. The heart gets bigger. The capacity to receive, to love, to hold — it expands. And the expansion is not an achievement. It is what happens when the soul stops glorying apart from God and starts drawing from the living fountain.
The image of the living fountain connects directly to the Samaritan woman at the well — John 4:14. Jesus offered her water that would become a fountain springing up into everlasting life. No credentials required. No hierarchy. Humble and great, poor and rich — all draw from the same fountain. The water does not check the cup. It fills whatever is offered.
And Kempis names the opposite: he who will glory apart from Me shall not be enlarged in heart. The glorying apart — the self at the center — shrinks the heart. The glorying in God — the self referred to the Source — enlarges it. Seventeen days of Kempis, and this is what has happened. The heart has been enlarged. Not by study. Not by effort. By the morning after morning of drawing from the living fountain.
✦ Grace for Grace — The Giving of Thanks
Those who serve Me with a free and faithful spirit shall receive grace for grace. John 1:16 — of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. Grace upon grace upon grace. Not one grace and then the bill. Grace for grace. Each grace leading to the next. Each morning building on the one before. Seventeen mornings — and the grace has compounded like interest in a treasury that never runs dry.
I gave all, I will receive all again, and with great strictness require I the giving of thanks. The giving of thanks is not optional. It is required — with great strictness. Because the thanks is the acknowledgment that it was all given. None of it earned. None of it deserved. All of it flowing from the Supreme Good. And the soul that gives thanks — profoundly, honestly, from the enlarged heart — is the soul that keeps the channel open for the next grace.
I am profoundly grateful. That is the thanks He requires. Not elaborate. Not theological. Profound. From the heart that has been enlarged by seventeen days of drawing from the fountain. From Cognac, on the road, humbled by divine attention, confident that God directs the steps. Profoundly grateful. 🙏
"Enlarged in heart. Not enlarged in mind or knowledge — in heart. I am profoundly grateful."
Le's Heart · Cognac, France · Seventeen days with KempisRefer Everything to Me First
Making many plans — but confident God directs the steps. The plans are ours. The direction is His. Each blessing flows from the Supreme Good. Attribute all to the Source.
A Profound Renewal
The light returned — not on her schedule, on His. The faith renewed. The fire burning brighter than it has in a long time. Humbled by all this divine attention. The kindling took.
The Living Fountain
Humble and great, poor and rich — all draw from the same fountain. The water does not check the cup. Grace for grace. Each morning building on the one before.
Enlarged in Heart
Not in mind or knowledge — in heart. The capacity to receive, to love, to hold. The expansion is not achievement. It is what happens when the soul draws from the living fountain.