This Solitary Summer

Last night after dinner, when we were in the garden, I said, "I want to be alone for a whole summer, and get to the very dregs of life.  I want to be as idle as I can, so that my soul may have time to grow.  Nobody shall be invited to stay with me, and if any one calls they will be told that I am out, or away, or sick..."

This is MY kind of book!  Actually, it is the third I've read by Elizabeth von Arnim since finding out about her a month or so ago.  The last, Mr. Skeffington, was witty and wonderful--about a woman coming to grips with her 50th birthday.

The opening lines of THIS one are particularly intriguing to me.  Only yesterday I posted this quote and my comment on Facebook:   "We don't need to retire to the desert to meet with God. He can come to us at our ordinary duties." (A. Bonar) This is comforting to me. I was disappointed when I needed to cancel a plan to spend several days at Gethsemane Monastery in KY next week..... Looking forward to seeing how "He will come to me".

I AM looking forward to seeing how God will come to me in my ordinary duties -- next week, definitely.  And throughout the entire summer--This Solitary Summer.  I did SO want to spend the days at Gethsemane. (It would have been my second stay there.)  I even had a "secret" agenda; a reading and prayer plan.  My soul was thirsty. Well, it will not happen as I expected, but I WILL be refreshed.  He promised me uniquely last night!
...the "promise" seen from our back yard

11 comments:

  1. Oh the quote at the beginning just says what I have felt for some time, and yet, Him meeting me in the everyday is the truth. I keep thinking that if I could get away to a cabin and regroup I would know what to do, but there isn't money for that and I have the responsibilities of two children. God knows that, so I will watch how He is going to meet me this summer...in the daily acts of life.

    Thanks..I am going to look for these books.

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  2. Beautiful post! And, as much as I'd love to spend a solitary Summer, I was more comforted by your words of "He will come to me" in my ordinary duties.
    And, in this busy time of my life right now, I do find that He comes to me, and I am so grateful.

    So sorry you were disappointed about your plans having to be cancelled, but I love your trusting attitude!
    God Bless!
    Love and Prayers,
    Eileen

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  3. I have been wanting to check out your recommendations on this author but this book really got my attention this morning. Couldn't wait for right time...So I finally looked up the author on amazon trying to find a used book. Found the Kindle edition is FREE! Though I have many books, both real and Kindle, ahead, I now have this in the queue for summer! Thanks.

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  4. This sounds like a great book. I absolutely love that God does come and speak to me most when I am just doing ordinary day-to-day things, mostly housework. Then, upon hearing His word to me, I am refreshed and renewed and suddenly the ordinary becomes extraordinary!

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  5. I think I'm fixing to have to come to grips with being 54......

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    1. You're such a YOUNG thing, Mo! I think I should have chosen a better word. Come to "terms" maybe? Honestly, the book handles it with such humor. It's written about a 100 years ago, but I found it very amusing. There are some GREAT lines in it.

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  6. Love the picture with the rainbow. It appears to be intersecting with the cross... ok, ok... it's a telephone pole, but...

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  7. Tamara, You're RIGHT! Why didn't I see that?

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    1. AND..........after I further look, I see the stop sign -- right at the foot of the "cross"!

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  8. I am intrigued by these books you are reading...I think I am going to ILL from my local library and enjoy them ;)

    m.

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  9. I had to make a conscious effort to allow HIM to meet me everywhere I was. Great quote :)

    m.

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Writing a Song a Week #3

Writing a Song a Week #3
♪ I wait for the Lord; my soul waits and in his word I hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning ♪ (Psalm 130:5-6)