I'm reading Katie Schumermann's "The Choir Immortal," a most delightful book about the church and its people who live in small town rural America. I really appreciated this exchange between Alice, who suspects that she might have cancer and her daughter, Rebecca, who recently suffered a still born birth and is still reeling from that time in her life.
Rebecca sniffed, stepping back and wiping her eyes. "God will never give us more than we can handle, right?"
"That's not exactly true dear."
Rebecca looked up, surprised.
"People are always saying that, I know," Alice hastily explained, "but God never promises such a thing. In fact, I suspect He always gives us more than we can handle, that we might turn to Him again and again and again. We're sheep prone to wander, dear, and the Good Shepherd bops us with His staff to keep us in the fold."
"I'm beginning to fear that staff."
"Don't fear the staff, Rebecca," Alice warned. "Fear the wolf that would lead you astray."
(page 190)
