Sister Wendy's Light

I am reading a delightful book, "Sister Wendy On Prayer," by Sister Wendy Beckett of PBS fame. You may have seen some episodes of the series she had giving her perceptions of paintings, famous and not, as an art historian. I only saw one or two of them several years ago, but was taken by her lovely spirit, her simple, honest, astute and lively analysis. I'm just starting this book, but already found a paragraph that I thought would fit nicely with the theme of this blog and hope you enjoy it, too.

"When we pray, we are...carried, borne along by a power that we do not and cannot direct. It is our prayer, our boat. It is we who have launched it on this sea of faith and we who stay quiet within it. But all the movement comes from God. We await Him, we surrender to Him. Where we want to go is not to the point; it is where God wants to take us. We do not see where that is. There is starlight, yes, but no sun or moon, no clarity of vision. Our world becomes duotone: scarlet sky, purple sea. All that is in our power is choice (as it is in life, which is meant to be prayer extended): do we stay still, hidden, unable to take control, or do we jump up and steer that boat ourselves, refusing God's lordship?" (p. 36)

Even if only a little startlight, there is still always a LIGHT to lead our way....