Chapter One
The First ConversionAugust 3, 1666
The first time I met Brother Lawrence was Friday, August 3,
1666. That's when he told me how he had been converted
-how God had worked in a great way in his life
when he was eighteen years old.
That winter, the sight of a bare tree started him thinking
of how it would soon regain its flowers and fruit. That
image of the leafless branches never left him-and actually
gave him a powerful vision of God's power and providence.
In fact, this vision helped derail him from his worldly point
of view. It sparked in him a love for the Lord so intense that
he could never really tell if it increased in the forty-some
years that followed.
Brother Lawrence told me he'd served as a footman to a
Mr. Fieubet, a government accountant. He also said that
during that time, he was a big, clumsy guy who broke
everything. Thinking he could pay for his clumsiness and
sins, he decided to enter a monastery, where he would sacrifice
the pleasures of his life. But God surprised him by giving
him a life of satisfaction instead.
He explained that we should practice God's presence
through a continuing conversation with Him, that it would
be shameful to trade such a relationship for trivial foolishness,
and that we should feed our souls on the highest
thoughts of God. We can find deep joy, he said, by simply
being with the Lord.
He went on to say that our faith needs revival, and it's
too bad we have so little faith. Instead of using it as the
guidepost for the way we live our lives, we amuse ourselves
with trivial devotions that change every day. Faith, he said,
is enough to bring us a complete and mature spiritual walk.
In this walk we ought to give ourselves completely to
God, both physically and spiritually, and look for our own
satisfaction only in doing His will. Then, whether God leads
us into a path of suffering or apparent blessings, it will be
the same because we are wholly surrendered to God. We
need to hold on to our faith in the spiritual desert when
prayer is hard and God refines our love for Him. This is the
time for complete surrender to God. A single step of this
kind takes us closer to Him.
Brother Lawrence said he wasn't surprised to hear of all
the daily sin and misery in the world. Considering what
darkness a sinner is capable of, he was actually surprised
there wasn't more. He said he prayed for people outside the
monastery, but he didn't let it bother him too much because
he knew God could set matters straight whenever He liked.
He said that to reach the level of surrender God requires,
we should keep a close watch on the motives and impulses
that mingle in both spiritual and physical affairs. God gives
seeing eyes to those who truly want to serve and know Him.
Toward the end of our conversation, he told me I was
more than welcome to return as often as I pleased-if I really
wanted to serve God. If not, then I shouldn't visit again.
(Continues.)
