“I believe I may say that, in a retrospect of my complaints, I have scarcely, if ever, dared to desire that things had been ordered for me other-wise than they have been. I am ready to be surprised, that so unworthy a creature has hitherto been preserved in the degree of composure which I have been permitted to experience.”
“Most of us have known some degree of real suffering or sorrow. Even those of us who have led a seemingly charmed life have seen the suffering of others or known the very real sorrow of a dear loved one who has lost all or nearly all, or some who live in a near constant fear of death, physical, spiritual or emotional. It is not pretty. How then is it that we could, or should be expected to be thankful?”
“One of the most vivid experiences [of individual worship] on my part was sitting quietly for at least an hour before a picture by the Dutch painter Vermeer, and absorbing its sheer beauty… The room was crowded with people, but I was oblivious of them, as I was equally oblivious of the passage of time. As a result of this act of concentration the vision of this particular masterpiece is indelibly stamped on my mind which has forever been enriched by it. I know that my ordinary acts of seeing and observation have been sharpened by that experience. There was drawn from me an acknowledgement of the greatness of the artist and his painting and I caught, with awe, the light of his inspiration and creativeness. Further, something was given to me that I can only describe as, literally, a transcending of the normal everyday world. This quite simple secular act was for me a truly worshipful experience.”
“Worship is the response of the human spirit to the presence of the divine and eternal, to the God who first seeks us. The sense of wonder and awe of the finite before the infinite leads naturally to thanksgiving and adoration.”
“While I was too young to have any religion of my own, I had come to a home where religion kept its fires always burning. We had very few ‘things’, but we were rich in invisible wealth. I was not ‘christened’ in a church, but I was sprinkled from morning to night with the dew of religion. We never ate a meal which did not begin with a hush of thanksgiving; we never began a day without ‘a family gathering’ at which mother read a chapter of the Bible after which there would follow a weighty silence.”
“A lovely morning. All around me was calculated to impress my heart with love and gratitude, and in my time of stillness, I earnestly sought an increase in ‘the increase of God!’ but to be kept very low at my Saviour’s feet—there only, I know, is safety to be found by me—and to be kept there, even through deep suffering, I now regard as my choicest blessing.”
On leading a Quaker workshop:
“I find it easy to recognise the presence of the Host. People come to me in tears, telling me of profound transformational experiences, and I stand in awe. I’ve held the space, but the work hasn’t been done by me. My job is to make room for the Spirit to do its work. It is a constantly humbling experience.”
“A few months ago, during silent worship, I visualized myself standing in a very bright shower of light coming down from above, from a source I couldn’t see because the light was too bright. The light was moving and flowing over me, as the water in a shower does, with a very soft kind of rushing sound… The rushing shower seemed to overcome some of my resistance to receiving the unconditional Divine love I believe it symbolized…”
“They come thereby to enjoy and feel the arisings of this Life, which, as it prevails in each particular, becomes as a flood of refreshment and overspreads the whole meeting, for man and man’s part and wisdom being denied and chained down in every individual, and God exalted, and his Grace in dominion in the heart, thus his Name comes to be one in all, and his glory breaks forth and covers all.”
“My parents intentionally raised me to be thankful. I spent a lot of time in my childhood, at times almost against my will, writing “thank you” notes for presents or experiences I received from relatives and friends. But over time, that discipline of writing thank you notes changed my view and taught me what I believe is genuine gratitude and thanks.”
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