"If it can be verified, we don't need faith... Faith is for that which lies on the other side of reason. Faith is what makes life bearable, with all its tragedies and ambiguities and sudden, startling joys."
Faith has been at the forefront of my mind over the last three weeks. Madeleine L'Engle has been on my mind, too, because I've been re-reading one of her books, A Live Coal in the Sea, the sequel to her young adult novel, Camilla. The title of that book comes from a quote from William Langland: "But all the wickedness in the world which man may do or think is no more to the mercy of God than a live coal dropped in the sea." She writes beautifully about faith and mercy, about the wonders of the world and creation, about love and the complexities of relationships. Her books are a blessing to all those who read them.
(See more quotes from her books here.) Sometimes the words of others make clear something I know or feel but can't find the words for, and I've found that to be very true of Madeleine L'Engle's words.
"When we were children, we used to think that when we were grown-up we would no longer be vulnerable. But to grow up is to accept vulnerability... To be alive is to be vulnerable."
— Madeleine L'Engle
— Madeleine L'Engle
"It might be a good idea if, like the White Queen, we practiced believing six impossible things every morning before breakfast, for we are called on to believe what to many people is impossible. Instead of rejoicing in this glorious "impossible" which gives meaning and dignity to our lives, we try to domesticate God, to make his might actions comprehensible to our finite minds."
— Madeleine L'Engle
— Madeleine L'Engle
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