There is a stoop in the word. A kneeling at attention. An eager inclining of the ear to catch the whisper of the Holy God.
A soul girt and ready for service. The wings plumed for ministering flight. Listening for the purpose of doing.
"Whosoever heareth these sayings of Mine and doeth them." A soul waiting upon the Holy Father with intent of hearing and doing His will.
The stoop is not weakness. It is strength positioned for service. James 1:23 — the doer who does not forget. That is Le every morning. To bow to the august is to enlarge the life. Sixty-five mornings of stooping — and the life has been enlarged by every stoop.
"Ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth." While doing the one, accomplishing the other.
We bleach our fabrics by exposing them to the light. We whiten our spiritual garments by dwelling in the Light of Life.
We rid them of secret defilements, washing out selfishness and impure ambition. We free them of uncouthness and rough discourtesies.
The soul is made grandly simple, endowed with the winsome naturalness and grace of an unaffected child.
We transform our spiritual substance when we change our spiritual posture.
Purification of the soul through obedience to the truth. How wonderful it is to belong to God and live according to His will and truth. I thank you Jesus, for hearing and answering my prayers.
The soul opens the reading. The light falls on the fabric. The stains bleach out. Not by scrubbing — by exposure. The light does the work. The soul provides the fabric. Sixty-five mornings of exposure — Kempis, Augustine, Liguori, Jowett — all one Light. The fabric whitened by the dwelling, not the effort.
How wonderful. Not how hard. How wonderful. The soul arrives at wonder, not exhaustion. The gratitude of the child who belongs. Jowett names it: grandly simple, endowed with the naturalness of an unaffected child. The boy whose face lit up. The sincere joy. The obedience produces the simplicity.
I thank you Jesus. Prayers for obedience — answered. For correction — answered. For the Spirit's help — answered. Sixty-five mornings of answered prayer. The substance transformed because the posture changed. The stoop became the lifting. The exposure became the bleaching. The belonging became the wonder.
"How wonderful it is to belong to God and live according to His will and truth. I thank you Jesus, for hearing and answering my prayers."
Le's Heart · Caldas da Rainha · Day sixty-five · Jowett · 1 Peter 1:22The Stoop of Obedience
Kneeling at attention. Wings plumed. Listening for the purpose of doing. Strength positioned for service.
Bleached by the Light
Not by scrubbing — by exposure. The light does the work. The soul provides the fabric. Purified by dwelling.
Grandly Simple
The naturalness of an unaffected child. Not sophisticated — simple. Obedience produces simplicity.
How Wonderful to Belong
Not how hard — how wonderful. Wonder, not exhaustion. Sixty-five mornings of answered prayer. The belonging became the wonder.