Beach days

"Divine qualities are unlimited. For this reason you must not be satisfied with one quality, but must try to attain all. Each of us must improve himself, that he may attain nothing short of the best. When one stops, he descends. A bird, when it is flying, soars; but as soon as it stops, it falls. While man is directed upward, he develops. As soon as he stops, he descends. Therefore I wish the beloved of God always to ascend and develop." Abdu'l-Baha quoted in the Diary of Juliet Thompson

"The whole duty of man in this day is to attain that share of the flood of grace which God poureth for him. Let none, therefore, consider the largeness or smallness of the receptacle." Baha'u'llah

"Happy is the man that pondereth in his heart that which hath been revealed in the Books of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting." Baha'u'llah

Over the past few days, I've been thinking about my life and my purpose and my capacity. Where am I going? How am I getting there? I've been reading the Diary of Juliet Thompson (the woman my sister was named after, one of the early American Baha'is who travelled to Haifa and Akka, Israel on pilgrimage and met with Abdu'l-Baha, and then also was a host to Abdu'l-Baha when He came to the United States in 1912). The diary chronicles her times in Israel as well as in the States with Abdu'l-Baha. I love this book because it gives a very real, sincere picture of how Abdu'l-Baha related to people on a personal level. He was loving, inspiring, honest. And Juliet very effectively describes the struggles of the early Baha'is, in trying to lead their lives and establish unity within the American Baha'i community. She was so full of love and humility, and it helps remind me of the attitude I want to have in my life, that of complete humility and service and love for everyone.

It's been interesting being back among the family as we've all grown and moved on in life and developed in different ways, it's a very different dynamic to the family. I am so much like my mom in many ways, as a homemaker. We both want to take care of the people we love and want everything organized and in its place and clean. We have giggled so much, especially the girls, and it's been so nice. I joke and pun a lot more around my family, I'm not quite sure why they bring that out in me :). It's fun to be able to make jokes. Sometimes they don't get it or don't laugh, but sometimes they do and that's fabulous :). Today is Christmas Eve, the day before we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. In one of the collections of the Writings of Baha'u'llah, called Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, Baha'u'llah talks about the glorious station of Christ, and Christ's effect on the world:

Know thou that when the Son of Man yielded up His breath to God, the whole creation wept with a great weeping. By sacrificing Himself, however, a fresh capacity was infused into all created things. Its evidences, as witnessed in all the peoples of the earth, are now manifest before thee. The deepest wisdom which the sages have uttered, the profoundest learning which any mind hath unfolded, the arts which the ablest hands have produced, the influence exerted by the most potent of rulers, are but manifestations of the quickening power released by His transcendent, His all-pervasive, and resplendent Spirit.
We testify that when He came into the world, He shed the splendor of His glory upon all created things. Through Him the leper recovered from the leprosy of perversity and ignorance. Through Him, the unchaste and wayward were healed. Through His power, born of Almighty God, the eyes of the blind were opened, and the soul of the sinner sanctified.
Leprosy may be interpreted as any veil that interveneth between man and the recognition of the Lord, his God. Whoso alloweth himself to be shut out from Him is indeed a leper, who shall not be remembered in the Kingdom of God, the Mighty, the All-Praised. We bear witness that through the power of the Word of God every leper was cleansed, every sickness was healed, every human infirmity was banished. He it is Who purified the world. Blessed is the man who, with a face beaming with light, hath turned towards Him.
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 85)

So, during this time, we give thanks to God that He sent us Christ to help purify our souls and draw us closer to God. Now, as a sign of our gratitude, it is our duty to use the capacity that God has given us and develop divine qualities to serve mankind and help to advance the world. Merry Christmas!