And that is all we can manage these days and also all that really matters: that we safeguard that little piece of You, God, in ourselves. And perhaps in others as well. Alas, there doesn’t seem to be much You Yourself can do about our circumstances, about our lives. Neither do I hold You responsible. You cannot help us, but we must help You and defend Your dwelling place inside us to the last. -- Etty Hillesum (1914–1943), a young, Dutch, Jewish woman who died in Auschwitz.
This is my go-to read. The read that heads me away from self-centered fear toward Soul-centered peace.
That this young woman, facing certain and terrible death, was pondering not only how to help God but how to defend Your dwelling place inside us to the last is beyond my reach. I do believe though that we can all hold hope in our hearts when we can recognize this is to be desired.
To honestly hold God harmless for harm done to me personally was a major...seriously major... breakthrough for me. And, who's kidding whom, my harm was an arm-pinch compared to the work of the Nazis. But then...then!...to be able to write to God in her journal, not bray to the world but write secretly in her journal, You cannot help us, but we must help You...oh my.
Not in this lifetime, probably not in several more after this, but I take comfort in the hope that someday, when God wills and I am ready, I can and will have that as my unthinking desire.
Thank you.
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