The Story of a Soul

Okay, so I am 'inspired' to re-read this wonderful book and use it as both a book club and source of 'food for thought' for this blog. In that we are both inspired by St. Therese's life it seems appropriate. Tonight, my first thoughts:

WHAT WAS I THINKING!!!??? It has been many years since I last read this book and what I remembered was not what I was reading. Isn't that the funny thing about good books, especially good, true, spiritually theologically sound books? You read them once and gain a lot, set them aside, live a few days, months or years and pick them up again. Due to the life you have lived, the maturity you have gained, the grace you are now open to and the work of the Holy Spirit you gain a whole lot more - new more! It works with the Bible and it works with this book.

I know the reasons - I'm older now and hopefully wiser than when I first read this book and when I read for the 2nd or 3rd time when writing LFGP. But reading it now, it seems like a new book - a book I feel I've never read. I like it!

Thoughts from Chapter One - at least as far as I could read before stopping because I was just overwhelmed...

1st paragraph, 2nd line - "Jesus made me realize that I should please Him by unquestioning obedience."

Here's where I first got into trouble....have I ever given Jesus unquestioning obedience? I have strived to be obedient to Him but it usually always comes with questions, sometimes alot of questions such as, "Are you crazy?" or "Surely, you can't mean...." or my favorite "Why??" I expect obedience from my children, unquestioning obedience for the most part as I'll allow them to ask appropriate questions about the why's if it will help them better understand or inspire them. But my questions to God are rarely of this nature - my questions are whiny and demanding. Explain yourself to me God!! Shades of Job. While I would love to see God, I don't want Him giving me the slapdown He gave Job!

4th paragraph - Here is the beginning of the LFGP when I first began to see it - "The splendour of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not rob the little violet of its scent nor the daisy of its simple charm. I realised that if every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness and there would be no wild flower to make the meadows gay."

Our daughters, young though they are, could be seen as the little violets who surely give God joy. And we all have much to give to God (and the world) even if we have a bit of wild flower in us and aren't as refined as the rose!

I read some of her early life but needed to pause in my reading...too much as they say to read in one reading...

More tomorrow night...

One last thought - did you realize that she gave herself the name "Little Flower"? I had forgotten that until re-reading it in the introduction. It made me wonder what name would I give myself in my relationship with God? Pathetic Weed came to my mind first but that certainly isn't as inspiring is it? :-) I'll give it some more thought and see I can't come up with something better!