“The divine activity permeates the whole universe, it pervades every creature; wherever they are it is there; it goes before them, with them, and it follows them; all they have to do is to let the waves bear on them. Would to God that...all men could know how very easy it would be for them to arrive at a high degree of sanctity. They would only have to fulfill the simple duties of Christianity and of their state in life; to embrace with submission the crosses belonging to that state, and to submit with faith and love to the designs of Providence in all those things that have to be done or suffered without going out of their way to seek occasions for themselves…This is the spirituality of all ages and of every state. No state of life can, assuredly, be sanctified in a more exalted manner, nor in a more wonderful and easy way than by the simple use of the means that God, the sovereign director of souls, given them to do or to suffer at each moment." Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade
As I read this quote of Fr. de Caussade, from Abandonment to Divine Providence, I take pause…take a deep breathe, and think, you say this is easy? Maybe I misread--oh--not easy, but very easy!
How can that be so?
From the time we come into existence, our lives are in constant state of flux. We go from the womb to family, from our family to school, from school to our primary vocation, all of which is called our state in life.
Transitioning from one to another can be exciting or really scary and frightening. It can be easy peasy or challenging.
I remember having a really difficult time adjusting to first grade. I cried the first half of the year! I was not a happy camper. I don’t remember what changed it, but at some point, I began to enjoy school, became a wonderful student and made lots of friends. But it was tough for me, my parents and the teacher, the first number of months.
When I married, that was an easy transition; my husband and I were very much in love and quite excited to “set up house” and have a family.
Our first child was born a little before our second wedding anniversary, and although I was thrilled with the aspect of having our child, I hadn’t ever been with a colicky infant 24/7. It was quite an adjustment the first number of months, but once I found my way, I embraced motherhood: this was who I was born to be!
God blessed us with five children: one girl and four boys and each one of them added to our family in making us “us.”
I counted myself lucky that our first three children commuted to college. I fared well in that transition. It was a whole different situation when one of our sons decided to room away from home. That was a challenging time for me. I liked seeing and speaking to my kids every day, no matter how old they were, and this wasn’t happening. We had our ups and downs, our successes and failures, but I was eventually able to see it as a maturing, for both him and me.
As our children became adults, and chose their spouses, it was both exciting as well as challenging. Blending new personalities with what had always been “us,” was not quite as easy as I thought.
This too had its highs and lows but, in the end, I had to be stretched and allow myself to grow and let go of what was the “old us” and allow the “new us” to unfold. We are still in the process of “becoming,” and that will probably continue for some time.
Becoming a grandmother was and is one of the best transitions that I’ve had to make! I believe it is our gift from God as we grow older to bring us a joy never before experienced…and it never gets old.
Speaking about old, transitioning into the senior years, like all of life, has its mix of highs and lows. This has been a time of gain, as in the birth of our grandchildren, but of loss, as we age and are not quite up to doing what we once did.
God has caught my attention to face my mortality, as well as my husbands. He’s called me to start scaling back and to purge my house of what isn’t really needed. To prepare myself and my home, for what could be next. Coming to terms with this has been difficult, but necessary. I’m trying my best not to look at this as a season of loss, but a natural process of living.
I’ve loved to entertain and have wonderful, big parties and celebrations, and I still love to do it. But as I age, it is not as easy and effortless as it once was. I miss what was but need to make room for what will be.
Right now, as in all phases of my life, I am trying to see this as what is best for me, in God’s perfect design. As I look over my life, I can see the hand of God and His presence, traversing throughout my existence. I have always known that His graces and His help are there for me. I know that this state of life, as it continues to change, will become my new normal, unless a major change occurs. Whatever comes my way, God has seen it ahead of time and will uphold me as needed.
I have tried my best to fulfill the simple duties of my state in life and trust in God’s Providence. When I’ve fallen, He’s picked me up and held me to His heart. The Holy Spirit whispers scriptures to me when I’m struggling to see what’s what.
“Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled and the skins will be ruined. Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins” Lk5: 37-38
At a time when I was “stuck,” and could not and did not want to accept and let go of what was, God spoke that word to me. The power of His word enabled me to see. I was insisting on putting the new wine of my life, into the old wine skin. In other words, I didn’t want to change, myself or my traditions; therefore, my stubbornness was causing “the new wine,” to spill all over the place and make quite a mess! I had to accept and acquiesce to the new wine and use fresh wineskins.
It wasn’t easy, but with God’s grace and powerful word, I succumbed to doing what He was calling me to do: to grow in holiness and humility.
We are so very blessed, to realize and know, in our deepest selves, that “the divine activity permeates the whole universe, it pervades ever creature; wherever they are it is there; it goes before them, with them, and it follows them; all they have to do is to let the waves bear them on.”
The divine activity is God Himself. He has not just created us and left us to carry on alone. He has promised us, “Be brave ad steadfast; have no fear or dread, for it is the Lord who marches with you; He will never fail you or forsake you” Dt 31:8.
“I will instruct you and show you the way you should walk; I will counsel you, keeping my eye on you” Ps 32:8.
“For I am the Lord, your God, who grasp your right hand; It is I who say to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you’” Is 41:13.
“And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” Matt 28:20.
May we all pray to trust and surrender to God, the sovereign directors of our souls, and arrive at a high degree of sanctity, while traversing through the many transitions of our lives. May we never forget our true home is in heaven where we will go from glory to glory!
“Then I saw a new heaven and new earth. The former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be His people and God Himself will always be with them, as their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away. The one on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new’” Rev 21 1-5.
“What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love Him” 1Corth 2:9.
Until our last and final transition, Fr. de Caussade, please pray for us!
I agree some seasons in life are a joy to enter into while others are quite painful. Thank you for reminding us no matter what season we are in God is there with us!
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