Me and Lawrence are Bro's

I really like Brother Lawrence.  He's been my favorite "go-to-for-encouragement" guy for a few years now as I've been learning how to devote my days to prayer and glorify God in even the most mundane tasks.  However, it has been a few months since I picked up his book of letters, "The Practice of the Presence of God."  But after today, in all of it's business and boxes of coffee and upset customers and awkward set-ups and trash runs and spills and sweat and unpreparedness etc etc., I was longing for His Presence.

Today I spent two hours with a new believer and two other friends from my church and we listened to these awesome questions and discussions that came from this new believer.  It's amazing to see how much curiosity God has given us and it was such an encouraging time to dissect what the Bible tells us and to still have questions that take us deeper.  I'm very thankful for her.  Surprisingly those two hours were pure goodness to my soul and yet I was thirsty for more. So I came home and picked up Brother L's book, sat on my porch, listened to the birds and soaked up some more goodness.

I don't know why, and it's probably all in my head, but I feel such a connection to Brother Lawrence.  I don't know what I mean exactly except that I feel a deep understanding of his words on an emotional level as well as intellectual. Yeah that sounds pretty silly, but oh well.

Anyways, I came across this paragraph below in his twelfth letter and it resonated with my heart and how I long to see the world and people in my life; to care so deeply and passionately for their welfare.

"I know not how God will dispose of me.  I am always happy.  All the world to suffer; and I, who deserve the severest discipline, feel joys so continual and so great that I can scarce contain them.  I would willingly ask of God a part of your sufferings, but that I know my weakness, which is so great, that if He left me one moment to myself I should be the most wretched man alive.  And yet I know not how He can leave me alone, because faith gives me as strong a conviction as sense can do, that He never forsakes us until we have first forsaken Him.  Let us fear to leave Him.  Let us be always with Him.  Let us live and die in His presence."

I can't really follow that with anything as breath-taking.  So instead I'll leave you with Ings. :)

This is Ingrid. She likes to pose.