The Practice of the Presence of God

It has been a spiritually productive Lent for me. Productive in the sense that physicians mean when they use the word in reference to a cough when you're congested. I won't elaborate on the metaphor.

From Brother Lawrence's The Practice of the Presense of God:

That, as for the miseries and sins he heard of daily in the world, he was so far from wondering at them that, on the contrary, he was surprised that there were not more, considering the malice that sinners were capable of; that, for his part, he prayed for them; but knowing that God could remedy the mischiefs they did when He pleased, he gave himself no further trouble.

It is hard to explain the effect these words have had upon me. In fact, I won't even try: I'll just let you ponder them yourself.

The practice of the presence of God should be a simple thing; the simplest of things, really. What could be more desirable after all than to be continually before the face of our saviour and creator? The problem is that one must get one's self out of the way in order to do it, and one's self does not like to be got out of the way. No, not one little bit. Especially if one's self is an arrogant and belligerant ass like my self is. Thank you, Lord, for permitting afflictions of the flesh in order to cure those of the soul.