I’m preparing to lead a five-week study on the subject of contentment, so I am wandering through my notes from Watson and Burroughs’ books. I came across this quote ( I think from Burroughs), and I felt I should share it. It’s a wing dinger. I love the way those old Puritans did not mince words.
“Some people are so weak that they cannot restrain the unrest of their spirits, but in words and behavior they reveal what woeful disturbances there are within. Their spirits are like the raging sea, casting forth nothing but mire and dirt, and are troublesome not only to themselves but also to all with whom they live.”
One of the things my children teach their children is to “blow it out” when they get hurt. They always allow for a justifiable time for sorrow and comforting, but then they ask (or tell) them to blow it out. In other words, it is time to be done with this and press on. There is a lesson in this for adults as well. Some people need to blow it out when it comes to things that happened ten, twenty, thirty, or forty years ago. Rather than still troubling their own souls with how they were wronged, they should learn to blow it out. It’s time to be done. Actually, it is way past time. It would be better to blow it out immediately. If we practice with the little things (like not losing it when we stub our toe), then we will be better at the bigger things, like breaking our leg. And if we practice with the bigger things, then we’ll be better for the serious afflictions and troubles that are bound to come some day. It is like being in school. The more proficient we get at a subject, the harder the tests.
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Oooh! I hope this will be recorded and “Canonized”!
God has seen fit to use this recent trial:
http://www.pinkpeppers.com/2009/05/18/going-green/
to learn that the baby steps give us stamina and faith for the bigger ones.
I absolutely LOVE your blog. You are a godly woman with great interests. It seems like you read some great books. Could you list a handful of your favorites some time? Thanks!
Thank you, Mrs. Wilson. I needed to hear this today. (My family will tell you that I REALLY needed to hear this today!) I agree wholeheartedly with Valerie . . . I hope that these discussions on contentment are being recorded for those of us who don’t live near enough to hear your wise counsel in person.
Hi Cassandra and Valerie,
Yes, I’m recording them. Not sure when they’ll be ready for the public, but I will let you know.
Thankyou Mrs Wilson, I needed to hear that quote. I can see that I definitely had a raging see within me and did not contain it last evening and thus, I was not a good example to my siblings, when we were not able to get into our house and experienced a serious of frustrating circumstances. After, I remembered what you once said in, I think it was Mothers and Daughters, about wishing to replay events… so that I could demonstrate a more generous, gracious and calm spirit. Thanks again for your teaching. It is so reviving to the soul 🙂
Some people are so weak that they cannot restrain the unrest of their spirits, but in words and behavior they reveal what woeful disturbances there are within. Their spirits are like the raging sea, casting forth nothing but mire and dirt, and are troublesome not only to themselves but also to all with whom they live.
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Ouch.
If you don’t learn to get rid of your own hurts, you will never be able to witness to an unbeliever. Their hurts are deeper than yours and and have had decades to mold their personalities and their lives. A Bible translator told me that you are the Bible that most unbelievers read. If they don’t see Christ in you, why should they listen?