To allow yourself to be taken by life, by God

I often write in my journal during challenging times and good times as well. The practice of reflection can help to integrate and synthesize experiences, to draw the bitterness out of difficult circumstances and to highlight the preciousness of uplifting times.

During a period of extreme personal challenge in the spring of last year, I wrote some thoughts to recapture my faith. I condensed these thoughts into a quote, which to my surprise seems to have touched many people. It lives in my email signature.

To allow yourself to be taken by life, by God to the shallow edges and the deep ocean, to learn to live with fear, to seek to serve, to be gracious, to love. Perhaps that is all there is - not the having, but the practice of being carried and submitting to that which calls you.