Strengthen me, O God, by the grace of Your Holy Spirit. Give me virtue to be strengthened with might in the inner man, and to free my heart from all fruitless care and trouble, and that I be not drawn away by various desires after any things whatsoever, whether of little value or great, but that I may look upon all as passing away, and myself as passing away with them; because there is no profit under the sun, and all is vanity and vexation of spirit. Oh how wise is he that considereth thus!
Most helpful prayer for the heart and mind, especially for today. My mind was wandering with all the checklists I had to do to pack and move. Why not trust the Lord to help me and be more efficient? Trust the virtue to be strengthened with might in the inner man.
Le's note is the most practical thing she has said in thirty days with Kempis: why not trust the Lord to help me and be more efficient? Not trust the Lord instead of making the checklist. Trust the Lord to make the checklist work better. The inner man strengthened with might does not abandon the task. He does it with less anxiety and more clarity.
Kempis prays to be freed from all fruitless care and trouble — and the word fruitless is the key. Not all care. Fruitless care. The care that produces nothing but anxiety. The checklist items that the mind cycles through at 3am without resolving. The worry that does not pack a single box. That is fruitless care. And the prayer is to be freed from it — so that the fruitful care, the actual packing, the actual deciding, can happen with might in the inner man.
That I may look upon all as passing away, and myself as passing away with them. The checklist has items of little value and items of great value — and the anxious mind treats them all with the same urgency. Kempis says: see them from eternity. The ranking changes. The checklist shrinks. The peace grows. And the packing gets done.
I cannot rely on our moving experience from the US to Portugal. When you start to think "I can do this" — that means you can, and exhaust yourself. With the Lord's help, it will be better and a new experience.
"I can do this" means you can — and exhaust yourself. Past experience becomes self-reliance. And self-reliance is the quiet chain Kempis warned about yesterday. It does not look like a sin. It looks like competence. But it is the soul saying: I don't need God for this one. I've done it before.
The move from the US to Portugal was real and hard and survived. But Kempis says: to understand all other things according to the order of Your wisdom. His order, not your experience. His wisdom, not your competence. The move to Brittany is not the move to Portugal repeated. It is a new thing. And new things require new wisdom — not stored wisdom, not yesterday's manna, but this morning's bread. The Fountain does not store. It flows.
Give me, O Lord, heavenly wisdom, that I may learn to seek You above all things and to find You; to relish You above all things and to love You; and to understand all other things, even as they are, according to the order of Your wisdom.
Grant me prudently to avoid the flatterer, and patiently to bear with him that opposeth me; for this is great wisdom, not to be carried by every wind of words, nor to give ear to the wicked flattering Siren; for thus do we go safely on in the way we have begun.
This Kempis — already wise — asking for wisdom that I may learn to seek and to find You. New day, new experience, new wisdom needed.
Le noticed what makes Kempis Kempis: already wise, asking for wisdom. Thirty days of luminous writing — and he is still on his knees saying give me wisdom, that I may learn. The wise man does not stop asking. The asking is the wisdom. The moment the soul says I have enough is the moment the Fountain stops flowing — not because it runs dry, but because the cup is no longer held out.
New day, new experience, new wisdom needed. Every morning. The wisdom from yesterday does not cover today's checklist. The strength from the US move does not carry the Brittany move. This morning's prayer is for this morning's grace.
And the two dangers Kempis names for the road ahead: the flatterer who says everything will be wonderful, and the opposer who says it will never work. Avoid the first. Bear patiently with the second. Neither has the truth. Only God's wisdom has the truth. And the soul that seeks it freshly, daily, on her knees — she goes safely on in the way she has begun.
"New day, new experience, new wisdom needed. The Fountain does not store — it flows."
Le's Heart · Brioux-sur-Boutonne · Thirty days with Kempis · This morning's breadMight in the Inner Man
The prayer for packing day. Not strength to do more — strength to do it freely. Free from fruitless care, with might in the inner man. The checklist done with clarity instead of anxiety.
This Morning's Bread
"I can do this" is the quiet chain of competence. Past experience becomes self-reliance. The move to Brittany is not the move to Portugal repeated. New things require new wisdom — not stored, but flowing.
Already Wise, Still Asking
Kempis on his knees after thirty days of luminous writing — still asking for wisdom. The asking is the wisdom. The moment the soul says "I have enough" is the moment the Fountain stops.
The Flatterer and the Opposer
Two dangers on the road: the one who says everything will be wonderful, and the one who says it will never work. Avoid the first. Bear the second. Neither has the truth. Only His wisdom does.