Saint

Life can take on weary seasons. Options can arise, crossroads be met. Instead of joy we can find apathy or begrudging attitudes in our heart. So this morning, in this midst of my ambiguity the Lord was once again faithful and brought me to a book of mine, Defiant Daughters. Late last year I bought this book in order to re-enrich my faith through daily doses of faith stories. I am a historian. I see the present and future through the lens of the past; in my understanding of you now I must know all that brought you here. History is a true delight to discover. Reading stories of missionaries, monks, saints, men and women of the Body - what enriching experiences for a weary soul! Today I read about Mother Maria Skobtsova of Russia; in 2004 she was made a saint in the Russian Orthodox Church for her great works.

Maria wasn't always Maria, in fact it was after two divorces, death a child, loss of country that she found her calling in serving the displaced - the motherless of the 1930's Paris. She found where God had called her, and her bishop recasted the role of monastic nuns for her allowing her to live out her calling under the umbrella of the church. Her decision of becoming a nun is stunning,

"the more we go out into the world, the more we give ourselves to the world, the less we are of the world." In her active form of monastic life she defined it as, "the complete absence of even the subtlest barrier which might separate the heart from the world and its wounds." (Page 116)

How radical a statement! As believers we so often want to hide ourselves in our church, inviting others in rather than dirtying our feet in the world. I teared when reading that thought from Mother Maria. I too build walls around my heart, separating me from the world and its heavy wounds. At the conclusion of Maria's life in a Nazi concentration camp her reputation remained, even in the midst of danger she continued her work. As she wrote,
"be fearless in the face of the most daunting task, to generate the spirit of discipline  self-limitation, sacrifice and love, to lay down our lives for our friends, and to follow in Christ's footsteps to the Golgotha appointed for us." (page 119) We each have a cross, a moment of laying down ourselves for the other; while for many it is not the actual physical act of death we die to us and live to Christ. Maria would later die in a Nazi concentration camp as she continued her ministry to the displaced of Paris by helping Jews receive baptism certificates and many escape to England and Scandinavia  Yet in her time there her love remained, as she was remembered by a survivor later,
"she exercised an enormous influence on us all. No matter what our nationality, age, political convictions - this had no significance whatsoever. Mother Maria was adored by all. She took us all under her wing. We were cut off from our families, and somehow she provided us with family". (page 121)
What a testimony of faith!

In closing, I want to be like Maria, which as she stated, is really to want to reflect Christ in all I do. Even in the crossroads, where neither road is what my heart wants - I will be faithful to His calling. Even when loved ones betray my trust, I will keep faithful to love. I will take this cross, and carry it with love. Going into all the world, seeking out His lost children, making disciples unto His name. How precious is His calling upon us, though we can not see its end, or even its beginning sometimes - His path is there and I will walk upon it. Trusting His Spirit to shine upon me as I do. At the conclusion of reading Maria's story I needed to be washed with the Word to move forward, so I leave you with Colossians.


Colossians 3:12-14 says,
"As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. 13 Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony."