Now it is similiar with the state of our souls: we are following the study on Counsels of Perfection, http://counselsofperfection.blogspot.com/, and in the chapter of removing venial sins I see a parallel with the packing of our house, it is good to know what is to come one step ahead, for planning, but not to see the whole scope, because it could be daunting. The reason for to see the next step is to prepare the tools for the battle, it is different to go to the fields with a mounted horse or with bow and arrows, in one you go straight to the enemy, in the other you stay at a distance. Some sins are better defeated by "grabbing the bull by the horns", by having the sword of the Sacraments frequently, others are better defeated by staying at a distance of temptation and sending the arrows of Truth.
We have carried with us a book on the Amish for 10 years, and its pictures have become familiar to us. On entering our new to become house for the first time, we felt at ease, at home, and after looking into many other farms thereafter we kept the same feeling about our first showing. Friends, banks and family have doubted our choice, and sometimes in the back of my mind I also hear the same doubts, yet it is in the plain walls, in the rough dry walls, in the plain floor and empty floorplan that my heart finds refuge.
I opened the Amish book again today, to see the pictures with my children, and there it was, one house with the same appearance, a house that calls for daily work, a house that calls for holiness. I find myself in clutter and too many things around the house and on my walls, that instead of helping in the job of homemaking, they hinder work and make me lazy, complacent.
May the new house keep its new stewards in peace and work, in rough, plain, and lovely walls.
No comments:
Post a Comment