As a regular user of Twitter, I read a lot of
quotes. In fact my Twitter stream is almost bombarded daily by them. I think
the nature of Twitter being restricted to 140 characters lends itself to the
sharing of quotes.
One of the earliest famous quotes I can remember from my
youth was when Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser said, ‘Life wasn’t
meant to be easy’.
I’ve found it to be true! It’s not easy, and I don’t
think it’s meant to be. There are plenty of tough times, and often bad things
seem to happen in batches – as an example I lost both my mother and my
mother-in-law to illness within a short space. In our family lives and work
lives, we have a whole load of responsibilities and tasks that can be anything
but easy. Many of the things that I have attempted I’ve failed, or been
mediocre at at best.
Life is not always easy. It’s not always fun or super
enjoyable.
What may not be known about Malcolm Fraser’s quote is
that it bears resemblance to, and may in fact be a paraphrase of a line from George
Bernard Shaw’s play ‘Back to Methuselah’ which went: "Life is not meant to be easy, my child; but
take courage: it can be delightful”.
Another famous quote, a bit older than Mr Fraser’s, says
‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give
you rest…my yoke is easy and my burden is light’
These words of Jesus have been proved many times over by
people who find the spiritual experience of God as restful, rejuvenating, and
delightful.
This also is my experience since I embraced the Christian
faith. Life is not easy, but there are moments and occasions and seasons that
are truly delightful. Experiences and relationships that make life wonderful. I
find my rest in Jesus. My burdens seem lighter when I’m praying and praising.
There’s a new light in my life since I started following Jesus, a light that
punctuates and overwhelms the darkness.
Writer
Richard Rohr says, ‘You can bear the hardness of life and see through failure
if your soul is resting in a wonderful and comforting sweetness and softness.
Religious people would call this living in
God.’
So if
you’re finding life a real struggle, seek joy in God and peace within yourself.
Rohr says: ‘seek to rest in the good, the true, and the beautiful. It will be
the only resting place that will also allow you to hear and bear the darkness.’
www.salvationarmy.org.au/mornington
