God Is Awake

Back when I was a junior in high school, I had the privilege of taking advanced English from the most incredible teacher.  He was one of those people who just exuded passion and love for their chosen career.  And it overflowed into the classroom.  He challenged us, pushed us to think further, to read deeper and to write freer.  I began to truly love the written word while in his classroom.  He also happened to be the older brother of Bill Pullman, who was at the height of his 'While You Were Sleeping' fame, and so that made going to class all sorts of cool too.

At one point during the year, Mr. Pullman requested that we begin to make a quote book.  He encouraged us to write down quotes that spoke to us, or quotes that challenged us to think beyond our little worlds we had created for ourselves.  I took the task very seriously.  I carried around a 3x5 notebook and wrote down any and everything that caught my attention.  Phrases from books, statements from newscasters... I can only imagine how large my little notebook might have been if the internet was around in all it's infinite knowledge.  I put question marks next to the ones I wanted to ponder further, and put big X's through the ones that I felt were completely off the mark.

There was only one quote, however, that earned a large circle around it.  After 6 months of collecting the thoughts of other people, there was one that stood out to me.  One that encapsulated in just a brief phrase so much of what I believed to be true about life.  It is engrained in my memory to this day.

“Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.” ~Victor Hugo

 I love this quote because it faces the reality that life is not always perfect.  Trials come.  Some big and some small.  Some days do feel more like labor than life.  And we have permission to feel that way and acknowledge it.  But at the end of it all, God is there.  He is awake.  He knows it all, and He holds it in His hands.  Such powerful words of peace.

Is there a phrase or quote you've come across in your life that speaks to you?  I'd love to hear.