Light On Dark Water

A Christmas Caryll (10)

“Be it done unto me according to thy word” surrenders yourself and all that is dear to you to God, and the trust which it implies does not mean trusting God to look after you and yours, to keep them in health and prosperity and honor.

It means much more, it means trusting that whatever God does with you and with yours is the act of an infinitely loving Father.

The war has shown even the inexperienced, the young, that you cannot depend on money. In less than a few second the richest man’s home becomes a heap of rubble; at the same moment the little son is killed.

Is trust of God to go as far as that? Are we to see the pathetic little burden carried away in the warden’s arms and still say: “That is God’s dear son, the object of all His all-powerful love!”

–Caryll Houselander, The Reed of God

I think a lot of Christians, especially certain Evangelicals, really get themselves into spiritual trouble with the belief she describes in the first paragraph.

Maclin Horton
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7 responses to “A Christmas Caryll (10)”

  1. Janet

    This is exactly what JdC means by abandonment to the will of God.
    AMDG

    Reply
  2. Grumpy

    I’m kicking and screaming

    Reply
  3. Mac

    I think most of us are most of the time. I am, anyway.
    By the way, just to be clear: I don’t dismiss the worth of spiritual writers like deC. I can’t vouch for CH but my view in posting that was not that counsel given to religious does not apply to the rest of us, but that it’s couched in terms that often make it difficult to apply or obscure to the rest of us, and that we may be better off with something else. I can’t remember now and the book is at home, but I sort of think that letter was written to someone who was still not even in the Church yet, just wanting to be, and having a lot of family problems.

    Reply
  4. Grumpy

    The point is quite simply that our love for God should be unconditional love, not cupboard love. A tall order.

    Reply
  5. Charles Kinnaird

    I’m enjoying these quotes from Caryll Houselander. They are new to me and have peaked my interest in delving into The Reed of God.

    Reply
  6. Mac

    Glad to hear it–she is definitely worth looking into. Unfortunately, as you may have learned from earlier comments, most of her stuff is out of print. But I think there is a bit of a revival going on, so that may change. In fact I think someone mentioned that some of her stuff was going to be reprinted soon.

    Reply
  7. Marianne

    Ave Maria Press has published two of Houselander’s books: The Reed of God (in 2006) and This War Is the Passion (in 2008).
    I emailed them last week to see if they had any plans for publishing her letters, but they said no.
    I then emailed Sheed & Ward London, who originally published the letters, and am waiting to hear back from them.

    Reply

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