Day 25: No one is in their clutches who is in Your arms.

From the diary of Etty Hillesum.

Etty Hillesum was a young Jewish woman, born in the Netherlands in 1914, lived in Nazi-occupied Netherlands and died at the age of 29 in Auschwitz, Poland on November 30, 1943. During that time she kept a diary, which she entrusted to the safekeeping of a friend when she was sent to Westerbrook Camp., then published posthumously.

July 12, 1942~
Dear God, these are anxious times. Tonight for the first time I lay in the dark with burning eyes as scene after scene of human suffering passed before me. I shall promise You one thing, God, just one very small thing: I shall never burden my today with cares about my tomorrow, although that takes some practice. Each day is sufficient unto itself. I shall try to help You, God, to stop my strength ebbing away, tough I cannot vouch for it in advance. But one things is becoming increasingly clear to me: that You cannot help us, that we must help You to help ourselves. And that is all we can manage these days and also all that really matters: that we safeguard that little piece of You, God, in ourselves. And perhaps in others as well. Alas, there doesn’t seem to be much You Yourself can do about our circumstances, about our lives. Neither do I hold You responsible. You cannot help us, but we must help you and defend Your dwelling place inside us to the last. There are, it is true, some who, even at this late stage, are putting their vacuum cleaners and silver forks and spoons in safekeeping instead of guarding Your, dear God. And there are those who want to put their bodies in safekeeping but who are nothing more now than a shelter for a thousand fears and bitter feelings. And they say, ‘I shan’t let them get me into their clutches.’ But they forget that no one is in their clutches who is in Your arms. I am beginning to feel a little more peaceful, God, thanks to this conversation with You. I shall have many more conversations with You. You are sure to go through lean times with me now and then, when my faith weakness a little, but believe me, I shall always labor for You and remain faithful to You, and I shall never drive You from my presence.

More on Etty at http://www.ehoc.ugent.be/en

Posted by email from 40 Day Fast (posterous)