Juliana

"Benedicte, Little Sister, I have not seen you for a while--come in." Maggie skipped in, gave Juliana a quick hug and kis, and then sat down on the edge of the bed. The curtain was drawn back from the little window and the warm, wonderful light of spring flooded in. Sunbeams danced in the shaft of light like miiature angels ascending and descending. Julainasmiled broadly and said, "The earth is rejoicing today. 'Lo, winter is passed and the sound of the turtle dove is heard in the land.' So, Maggie, tell me, how is it with your soul?" "It is well," declared Maggie with a returning smile, "And all manner of thing is well." "All manner of thing?" queried Juliana, surprised but pleased to hear the echo of her own words. "I mean, the sky, the birds, the budding trees, everything!" exclaimed Maggie with enthusiasm. "The your soul is well, for skies and birds and teees, when they are noticed are indeed, things of the soul. Can you not hear them, deep calling unto deep?" "You said once, Juliana, you could hear these very walls speak. What did you mean bu that?" asked Maggie, hesitating now to broach the subject so much on her mind. "I meant there is more to life in the world than we would ever believe. all things are full of the fullness of God. It's not a matter of degrees--this having more of God than that--but a matter of state. A cup of air, a cup of sunbeams, or a cup of water all pour out God's self-same glory, but in various states. To have ears that hear the splashing of God in each of these cups is the secret of life." "To tell you the truth, when I'm thirsty, I'd rather have a cup of water than a cup of air," said Maggie. "Ah, but what if you were drowning, then a cup of air is just what you'd want! Or waht if you were lost in a cavbe, a cupt of sunbeams filled from a shaft of penetrating light would burst your heart with hope and joy. You see how all our cravings are cravings for God--he is the ground of our beseeching. And all our satisfactions--air, water, light, food, love--are gifts from God to meet those cravings, for he is also the sky of our blessing. He is Maker, Keeper, and Lover of all things, all things great and small, whether hazelnut of Leviathan, all things are by the power of his love. And the fullness of joy is to see God in all things." "Well, I know more of hazelnuts than sea monsters," said Maggie. "I wonder if you do," returned Juliana, "for Leviathan swims in the heart of the hazelnut." "More riddles, Juliana?" said Maggie with a happy twinkle in her eye. Juliana laughed. "It is my scheeme," she said, "to keep from boring you, and, if you will remember, it seemed to work for Moses. An ordinary bush would never do for him, but a burning bush that wouldn't burn, worked quite well. So, from time to time, I must ignite a few shrubs with parables and dark saying just to keep you from falling asleep." "And, of course, you know I would drive myself mad trying to figure out your puzzles if you didn't tell me, so save me from insanity and reveal the mystery of the hazelnut." "Well, I have one right here," said Juliana, and she held it up between her thumb and finger. the little brown nut seemed to gleam with a light of its own. Clearly, Juliana had held it for long periods of time, for it glowed with the bright patina of much care and handling. "Note how perfectly round and smooth this little nut. It is a world all its own. A small world with its own oceans and lands, its own forests and hills. And it has its own rhythm of time and its own history--a drop from some ancient scion of the past, a mother of many trees; a veritable grove of trees, in the future. This little nut holds the very stuff of God, life-full and true." "I like to eat them!" Maggie blurted out. "And why shouldn't you? 'Oh, taste and see, the Lord is good!' Eat and enjoy this taste of God so rich with flavor. Can you not taste in it the very earth itself and springs upon the tongue the very taste of life? It is, you see, a Eucharist. And that's the point of it all. From it comes the wizard's staff, the lover's charm and the magistrate's rod. Power, Authority, Love--a universe of all the great mysteries contained in this little nut that in a single bite is gone. Oh, Maggie, this little nut is more than a puzzle; it is the rede of life!"