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| Eva-Maria |
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Children,
our beloved children... my little friend Stella from Cameroon/Africa, in the midst
of friends celebrating her birthday!
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| Eva-Maria @ Harvard Square on a windy day |
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| watercolor painting by E-M |
Yes, Lord, you are innocence itself:
how could you conceive of Nothingness, you who are plenitude?
Your gaze is light and transforms all into light:
how could you know the half-light in my heart?
(Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980), French novelist, dramatist, philosopher, political activist. The Devil and the Good Lord, act 3, sc. 6, Gallimard (1951).)
Erasmus was the light of his century; others were its strength:
he lighted the way;
others knew how to walk on it while he himself
remained in the shadow as the
source of light always does.
But he who points the way into a new era is no
less worthy
of veneration than he who is the first to enter it;
those who work
invisibly have also accomplished a feat.
(Stefan Zweig (18811942), Austrian
writer. Erasmus of Rotterdam, p. 71, trans. by Marion Sonnenfeld, Vienna,
Austria, Herbert Reichner Verlag (1935).)
Business by no means forbids pleasures;
on the contrary, they reciprocally season each other;
and I will venture to affirm that no man enjoys either in perfection
that does not join both.
Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694-1773), British statesman, man of letters).
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| Switzerland |
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| taken on one of my trips there... |
Through
our own recovered innocence we discern the innocence of our neighbors.
(Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862),
U.S. philosopher, author, naturalist. Walden (1854), in The Writings of Henry
David Thoreau, vol. 2, pp. 346-347, Houghton Mifflin (1906).
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| Chicago |
In your loving
presence
conscious of Your
inexhaustible
goodness, dear Beloved,
I pray:
show me motives—kind and pure
so I mirror unconditional love
for mankind and You--
show me wisdom—just and true
so progress and healing
are present in all I do--
show me compassion—gentle and strong
so I can help those
who have suffered too long--
show me how inseparable You and I are
so I’m poised to see just You—You
who guards and guides, and loves us all--
O loving God, and Your living Christ,
For eternity one, the only One,
I bow—
Before the Love that always knows its own.
Eva-Maria
Certainty
of purpose
Wouldn't you be eager to
learn more about God if you found that a spiritual understanding of Him reveals
His plan for you? As God is infinite, ever-present good, His design for you is
inexhaustibly good. Cherishing your relation to God brings His purpose for you
to light as certainly as it gives clear direction to thought and action.
You
may remember how Paul in the Bible trusted God and God's purpose for him. In
the New Testament we read about the sea journey Paul made as a prisoner of Rome
(see Acts, chap. 27). The ship was sailing from Crete to Rome when suddenly a
storm came up. The other passengers feared the ship would rip apart, but Paul
knew that they would reach their destination. He got up and told his fellow
travelers:" ... be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's
life among you .... For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I
am, and whom I serve, saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before
Cæsar" (verses 22–24). Even though the vessel was thrown aground and was
"broken with the violence of the waves ... it came to pass, that they
escaped all safe to land" (verses 41, 44).
Where
did Paul's confidence that he would arrive at his destination come from? It
came directly from God. Paul, a follower of Christ Jesus, must have known that
stormy seas, fear, and human will can't interfere with God's purpose for man.
He must have known that God's will blesses one and all.
In the
Scriptures we read that man is made in God's image and likeness. God's
daughters and sons, then, are the very expression of God, of good. They're His
blessed, spiritual offspring. As such they glorify Him and are in harmony with
His design. In the book of Isaiah, God declares, "I will say to the north,
Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my
daughters from the ends of the earth; even every one that is called by my name:
for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made
him" (43:6, 7).
A
study of the Bible and the Christian Science textbook, Science
and Health by Mary Baker Eddy, reveals the purpose of man to express God's
nature. We see our purpose clearly and fulfill it as we use every opportunity
that presents itself to express such Godlike qualities as alertness, honesty,
poise, intelligence, love, and strength. These qualities, steadily put into
practice, reveal the tangible presence of infinite harmony. We feel more peace
and dominion. This is the result of spiritual growth, which leads naturally to
success in our activities—be it in school or on the job. The torment of
uncertainty and fear of failure disappear.
Anxiety
and doubt are impositions obscuring our view of God's purpose for us. They have
no genuine power, and they are no part of man's true nature. Therefore, they
can and should be rejected as lies. Such feelings merely call attention to the
presence of spiritual solutions. They make it a necessity to be on the lookout
for the good that flows from the source of all good—God.
If
we're uncertain about the outcome of an examination, a relationship, an
interview, or job prospects, we can be fearless, because we know that God is
not uncertain and neither is His expression, man. God is divine Mind, the
source of all wisdom, love, and harmony. As Mind's idea, man includes these
qualities. Therefore we always have the opportunity and ability to express
them. To do this is, in the most basic sense, God's purpose for man.
God is
ever with us. He cares for and provides for us. Mind never overlooks or forgets
one of its ideas. And a recognition of this fact invigorates us with
confidence.
Even
with all the hostile circumstances surrounding Paul's trip—having been taken
prisoner, shipwrecked, bitten by a venomous snake, and so on—he must have known
that unflinching trust in and obedience to God and His angel messages was the
safest, wisest way to proceed. Divine wisdom is never mistaken. Paul's deep
trust in God had been enabling him to carry out God's purpose for him—to
introduce Christianity to new parts of the world. He said, "We know that
all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to his purpose" (Rom. 8:28).
Years
ago I felt as certain about the purpose of a journey I had embarked on as Paul
must have. I was going to take class instruction in Christian Science. A day or
two before leaving home, I scratched my hand badly while working outside.
Shortly before boarding the plane (with the prospect of a twelve-hour flight
without stops), I had excruciating pain, and my hand and arm showed alarming
signs suggesting blood poisoning. Not being sure how I would manage under the
circumstances, I prayed to silence fear. In humility, I listened to divine
wisdom's guidance. Immediately I could see the purpose of my trip was
completely Mind-directed. Affirming divine Mind's ever-presence, I realized
that the physical symptoms couldn't be beyond Mind's control or exceed Mind's
infinite power. With this definite stand, I also saw the all-inclusiveness of
infinite good and the divine will encompassing the plane and my fellow
passengers.
First
the fear and then the pain disappeared. When I arrived at my destination, I
left the plane with two normal hands. I should add, I had never enjoyed a flight as
much as this one. As I exited, the steward at the door mentioned that it was
the smoothest flight he could remember.
Our success
in healing and in all endeavors rests in the certainty that God is our Mind,
the only Mind we have, and that He is guiding us. Sometimes we might feel
discouraged. But as we hold to the conviction that divine Mind is All and that
prayer brings clarity of thought and freedom from worry, we see God's purpose
for us unfold.
Christ
Jesus had a keen awareness of his unity with God, the divine Mind, and this
left no room for hesitation or uncertainty. It enabled him spontaneously to
perform mighty healing works and to fulfill his God-bestowed purpose for
humanity. He demonstrated the prophet's words "For the Lord of hosts hath
purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who
shall turn it back?" (Isa. 14:27).
A willingness to listen to and follow God
alone dissolves doubt and naturally brings focus to thought and experience.
Mrs. Eddy gives us these inspiring words: "Spirit, God, gathers unformed
thoughts into their proper channels, and unfolds these thoughts, even as He
opens the petals of a holy purpose in order that the purpose may appear" (Science
and Health, p. 506).
To be aware of God's purpose for you is to leave behind the limited, material
sense of things for the spiritual, and to magnify divine Mind's goodness and
power.
Eva-Maria Hogrefe
From the September 25,
1995 issue of the Christian Science Sentinel
Good-bye only to mortal-throbs
of spiritual blindness
leaving behind the mindless --
a drama reflected on
the mental screen of silence.
And a warm "Hello,"
and a sweet embrace
in the sunshine found
in every nook
of an inner space
of love,
wisdom,
kindness,
and patience with the mind of men.
Not in books found
but on the spiritual plane
do we soar, bound to each other
with joy, and in Love’s sacred power!
Eva-Maria
Love is kind and suffers long,
Love is meek and thinks no wrong,
Love than death itself more strong;
Therefore give us love.
Prophecy will fade away,
Melting in the light of day;
Love will ever with us stay;
Therefore give us love.
Faith will vanish into sight;
Hope shall be fulfilled in light;
Love will ever shine more bright;
Therefore give us love.
Faith and hope and love we see
Joining hand in hand agree;
But the greatest of the three,
And the best, is love.
--Christopher Wordsworth
The deeper
thought is,
the taller
it becomes.
The photos of flowers posted after E-M's article
are by Roby Azzah -- Thank you, Roby!
My best wishes to you
for a peaceful and productive 2014!
With love,
Eva-Maria
