Love Keeps Me Sane

On this path of puzzles, I'll trust the hand of God...

Tonight I opened a can of tomato paste with love and did my best to chop an onion with it, too. This might sound crazy if not for the example of Brother Lawrence, whose words about his journey of love are written in "The Practice of the Presence of God." He was a 17th century lay Carmelite brother who worked at simple tasks in the monastery kitchen. He said, "We can do little things for God; I turn the cake that is frying on the pan for love of him, and that done, if there is nothing else to call me, I prostrate myself in worship before him, who has given me grace to work; afterwards I rise happier than a king. It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground for the love of God."

If I am determined to love despite what may be difficult to bear, Christ (our True Love) is given permission to live through me. To what I wrote in my journal today: "I am taut, like a guitar string, ready to be plucked or to snap," Love says, "I will make you sing." Love seeks to relieve me from worry because it gently shifts my focus from me. So - even if for selfish reasons - I will try to live in love (and always in Love). It is what will keep me sane. A tall order, yes, but for now, for me, the only one that will do.