O thou handmaid aflame with the fire of God's love! Grieve thou not over
the troubles and hardships of this nether world, nor be thou glad in times
of ease and comfort, for both shall pass away. This present life is even
as a swelling wave, or a mirage, or drifting shadows. Could ever a
distorted image on the desert serve as refreshing waters? No, by the Lord
of Lords! Never can reality and the mere semblance of reality be one, and
wide is the difference between fancy and fact, between truth and the
phantom thereof.
Know thou that the Kingdom is the real world, and this nether place is
only its shadow stretching out. A shadow hath no life of its own; its
existence is only a fantasy, and nothing more; it is but images reflected
in water, and seeming as pictures to the eye.
Rely upon God. Trust in Him. Praise Him, and call Him continually to mind.
He verily turneth trouble into ease, and sorrow into solace, and toil into
utter peace. He verily hath dominion over all things.
If thou wouldst hearken to my words, release thyself from the fetters of
whatsoever cometh to pass. Nay rather, under all conditions thank thou thy
loving Lord, and yield up thine affairs unto His Will that worketh as He
pleaseth. This verily is better for thee than all else, in either world.