Anne Frank: The Remedy

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy, is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God.” —From Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl (1947).

Anne Frank lived in hiding in a cramped, secret upstairs annex of an office building for more than two years with her parents, sister, and four other Jewish people: Hermann and Auguste van Pels, their son Peter, and Fritz Pfeffer. The building was owned by Otto Frank’s company, and the entrance to the dark, damp hiding place was concealed by a bookcase. Anne and the seven other people could never venture outside. A small window in the attic through which she could see a chestnut tree was her only chance of getting fresh air. In a powerful reflection in her diary, she calls it “the remedy.”

Anne was fifteen when her family was discovered and sent to Auschwitz death camp, and later to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where she died weeks before British soldiers liberated the camp.

Today we give thanks for the life of Miep Gies, one of Mr. Frank’s employees, who helped the Frank family hide and later retrieved Anne’s diary. Otto was the only member to survive. He received the diary from Gies on returning to Amsterdam after the liberation.

Every day I know that I take Anne’s “remedy,” the world outside my window, for granted. I am putting Anne’s picture on my desk in hopes of honoring her short life and its truth.

Joanna. Joannaseibert.com

Just in time for the holidays

A Spiritual Rx for Advent Christmas, and Epiphany

The Sequel to A Spiritual Rx for Lent and Easter

Both are $18

All Money from sale of the books goes either to Camp Mitchel Camp and Conference Center in Arkansas or Hurricane Relief in the Diocese of Central Gulf Coast

Contact: joannaseibert@me.com

To the Joyous

“Shield the joyous; and all for your love’s sake.” —Order of Compline, The Book of Common Prayer (Church Publishing, Inc.), p. 134.

“The joyous.” I know these people. I have worked with them. I live with them. I go to the symphony with them. I read their postings on Facebook. They call me in the early morning on the way to work every day. I go to church with them. I serve with them.

I especially find them at one place I never suspected, at our church’s weekly Food Pantry. They are not only the joyful people who serve there, but they are the people who come once a month for food. That is why I selfishly go, not necessarily to offer light, but to receive it, especially from the neediest families. I sit and ask them how they are doing. “I am blessed,” is their response. They bring each other to the Food Pantry and talk about how they are going to share the meals together.

They share poignant stories of how God has been working in their lives, caring for them. They have never met a stranger. They ask us how we have been doing since we last met. Their voices echo laughter. They ask for prayers for other family members. They are teaching us how to live.

Joanna. Joannaseibert.com

Just in time for the holidays

A Spiritual Rx for Advent Christmas, and Epiphany

The Sequel to A Spiritual Rx for Lent and Easter

Both are $18

All Money from sale of the books goes either to Camp Mitchel Camp and Conference Center in Arkansas or Hurricane Relief in the Diocese of Central Gulf Coast

Contact: joannaseibert@me.com

The True Prophet

“How do we tell the false prophet from the true prophet? The true prophet seldom predicts the future. The true prophet warns us of our present hardness of heart, our prideful presuming to know God’s mind. The final test of the true prophet is love. A mark of the true prophet in any age is humility, self-emptying so there is room for God’s Word.” —Madeleine L’Engle in A Stone for a Pillow (Shaw Books, 2000).

We owe so much to Madeleine L’Engle and her books for children—which are even better for adults. Perhaps what I will remember the most, however, is the fact that her award-winning 1963 Newbery selection, A Wrinkle in Time, was rejected twenty-six times before it was published and became an instant science fiction classic!

L’Engle is telling us how we recognize authentic prophets and also how we know we are speaking with a prophetic voice. But there is more. I never know with any certainty when I am doing God’s will at the time; but I can sometimes realize afterwards that something was God’s will.

L’Engle’s thoughts can be helpful here. If my action is all about me, I must ponder if this is really God’s will. We are most likely to hear the voice of God when we are in a place of humility, of self-emptying. If an action of mine is done in love or flows from love, that is a good sign that it may express God’s will. But Madeleine L’Engle is telling us most of all that if we think we are doing God’s will—especially if we feel pride that we are on the right track—we need to stop and reconsider.

So, it’s a great mystery. If we think we have it, we don’t. If we don’t think we have it, we may. I keep remembering that previous helpful quote: “The opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty.”

Joanna. Joannaseibert.com

Just in time for the holidays

A Spiritual Rx for Advent Christmas, and Epiphany

The Sequel to A Spiritual Rx for Lent and Easter

Both are $18

All Money from sale of the books goes either to Camp Mitchel Camp and Conference Center in Arkansas or Hurricane Relief in the Diocese of Central Gulf Coast

Contact: joannaseibert@me.com