A powerful image for the Providence of God
(Second of five parts)
We conclude this week the telling of the story by George MacDonald, where the North Wind teaches a boy named Diamond about Divine Providence, by explaining to him the reasons behind an impending natural catastrophe:
[North Wind said to Diamond]: “But you have never heard the psalm (music), and you don’t know what it is like. Somehow, I can’t say how, it tells me that all is right; that it is coming to swallow up all cries.”
“But that won’t do them any good–the people, I mean,” persisted Diamond.
“It must. It must,” said North Wind, hurriedly. “It wouldn’t be the song it seems to be if it did not swallow up all their fear and pain too, and set them singing it themselves with the rest. I am sure it will. And do you know, ever since I knew I had hair, that is, ever since it began to go out and away, that song has been coming nearer and nearer. Only I must say it was some thousand years before I heard it.”
“But how can you say it was coming nearer when you did not hear it?” asked doubting little Diamond.
“Since I began to hear it, I know it is growing louder, therefore I judge it was coming nearer and nearer until I did hear it first. I’m not so very old, you know–a few thousand years only–and I was quite a baby when I heard the noise first, but I knew it must come from the voices of people ever so much older and wiser than I was. I can’t sing at all, except now and then, and I can never tell what my song is going to be; I only know what it is after I have sung it.– But this will never do. Will you stop here?”
“I can’t see anywhere to stop,” said Diamond. “Your hair is all down like a darkness, and I can’t see through it if I knock my eyes into it ever so much.”
“Look, then,” said North Wind; and, with one sweep of her great white arm, she swept yards deep of darkness like a great curtain from before the face of the boy.
And lo! It was a blue night, lit up with stars. Where it did not shine with stars it shimmered with the milk of the stars, except where, just opposite to Diamond’s face, the grey towers of a cathedral blotted out each its own shape of sky and stars.”
North Wind then lovingly took Diamond into the cathedral, where he found peaceful sleep and dreamt of the Apostles.
For the next three weeks,, I will offer a personal reflection about Divine Providence as described in the dialogue between North Wind and Diamond, part of the children’s book ‘At the back of the North Wind’ by MacDonald.
In my excitement last week about the UPS and Fed Ex deliveries, I forgot that I was supposed to be posting the series on Divine Providence from our church bulletin. So the above is the second installment.
I don’t know if this can compare in strangeness to the UPS deliveries, but on Monday, February 21, I got two Christmas letters in the mail, one Valentine and a Halloween picture. It had been a week since we had gotten our mail, so they may have arrived on different days in the week, but still it has to be considered unusual. The Christmas letters were from the Rackiewicz family and the Dan Vander Woude family. Both were very enjoyable, though I would say that the Rackiewiczs are better at taking Christmas pictures than the Vander Woudes — the VW parents’ heads finished slightly above the border of the picture. The Rack letter got us caught up on the happenings of their six children, all of whom are now graduated from college. While the VW letter got us caught up on their six children, all of whom are still pre-Seton. I should point out that we still have our artificial Christmas tree up. All the decorations are off it except the lights. I use them as a night light when I need to get up in the middle of the night Very beautiful. The Valentine came from the Akers family — a wonderful homemade one with the words of Psalm 90: “Fill us at daybreak with your love, Lord, that all our days we may sing for joy!” A lesson in how we should all approach each day with our small or great sufferings. The Halloween picture was forwarded to us by Mrs. Carroll. She had received it at Christmas from Sister Auriesville, pka Jean Pennefather. It was a picture of Mom and me on the Carroll’s front porch with me holding a pumpkin. We look very nice. Today we got our mail again. There were no personal letters. Maroseness.
It looks as if our March is coming in like a lamb — from Monday to Friday is supposed to be beautiful weather.
I have been looking around at blogs and all of them have pictures. Well, I only looked at three blogs. I don’t know how to do pictures. Is it easy? I have a digital camera. I may cut off the tops of people’s heads, but they make nice Christmas pictures anyway. If someone can tell me how to do pictures, I will try. I have no idea what I will take pictures of, but then I never have any idea what I’m going to write about either.
Jezu, ufam Tobie.