A Living Presence

Brother Lawrence was a lay brother in a Discalced Carmelite Monastery in the 17th century.  Since he had no education, he served a menial role within the monastery, as a cook and a sandal maker.  At first, Brother Lawrence's prayer life was one of low self esteem and fear.  He thought about his own sins and judgment, heaven and hell, etc -- but these thoughts made him sad and weary.  But gradually, Brother Lawrence developed a spirituality that focused entirely not on his own thoughts, but on the practice of the Presence of God.  There he found peace and consolation, instead of continual and consuming anxiety:

When I accepted the fact that I might spend my life suffering from these troubles and anxieties...I found myself changed all at once.  And my soul, until that time always in turmoil, experienced a deep inner peace as if it had found its center and place of rest (Brother Lawrence: Practice of the Presence of God).

 

In the kitchen, cooking the meals, and in the workshop, making sandals, Brother Lawrence found so much joy that he became known as a spiritual master, a mystic.  He gave up all other prayers and devotions in favor of simply remaining in the Presence of God.  He spoke of a continual conversation of the soul with God that gave him so much contentment that sometimes he had to act silly just to contain the joy he had.

 

What simplicity!  I remember once our Pastor saying that he talks things over with God while he is driving:  "What do you think about that?" he asks God.  "He doesn't always answer me right away," said Father Mike.  "Sometimes He has to think about it for awhile."

 

It seems to me that this spirituality is within reach of anyone who wants communion with God.  If we could drop the Thee's and Thou's and just talk to a Friend who is with us in the car or the kitchen while we are driving or cooking, we might be surprised at how "friendly" God really is.  That's what I loved about reading The Shack.  The Father was a Black woman cooking meals for all who came in; the Son was in the carpenter's workshop; and the Spirit was an ethereal Asian woman whose beauty and luminescence could not be directly seen, but only caught out of the corner of one's eye.  But all Three were a constant Presence of Joy in everyday life. 

 

Brother Lawrence's experience is exactly what it is like to step out of our world (of fear and anxiety and pressure to perform) into God's world of rest, joy, beauty, and laughter. Our world consumes us; His restores us and frees our spirits to dance and sing and be giddy -- even silly.  I know which world I want to live in!