For me this was a book that just could not be read just once.
I just finished reading a testament of devotion. Is it not strange how the different parts of one's life can come together in synchronicity? This book started as both a joy and struggle to read. By the time I finished reading it tonight, I was drawn back through a second "skim" reading, where the previous essays became clear as examples of the same theme with particular attention towards different focuses. It is the same thing that has come to me in my scripture readings, in my prayer for walk these last few days and months, in my conversations with others, and even in my Sunday school lesson on the Rich Young ruler from Luke chapter 18 this weekend. Simply put I need to go back to the greatest commandment. Do I love the Lord with all my heart, soul and mind? Am I living my life this way? How do I practice it, so that it becomes second nature? How do I practice so that my will is directed towards god, so that God's Light then enters my central self, that my will is replaced by God's will in my life? I've already started down this path. The joy now is that I find it easier and easier to hunger for God throughout the day. I see the fruit in my life. I see it in the people around me. I also see times when the pain and suffering of this world is there. I experienced the disconnect, the tripping, the blind aley ways I falter down. Yet like Thomas Kelly says, I don't fall into despair, but I pick myself up, and redirect myself towards the Light. Not my will, but His. Love and be loved. Oh how sweet!
This will be a book to revisit continually for simple affirmation and encouragement in my life. ( )

Given to Matthew Hayes - 05/11/2023

Published in 1941, I found it hard to relate to Kelly's style of writing. Also, my unfamiliarity with Quaker verbiage was detrimental to understanding his premise. ( )

Steere is author of the biography; Kelly wrote everything else

The book is a truly enduring spiritual classic. Plainspoken and deeply inspirational, it gathers together five compelling essays that urge us to center our lives on God's presence, to find quiet and stillness within modern life, and to discover the deeply satisfying and lasting peace of the inner spiritual journey.