"Restless Heart Ramblings" By: C.C.

"When I hear my former life brought forward, no matter with what intention it is done, I am not so ungrateful as to be afflicted there at; for the more they show up my misery (weakness), the more I praise my Physician." (St. Augustine)

    Saint Augustine of Hippo is a saint that I hold dear to me for many reasons. There can be much comfort found in learning of his life and journey toward faith when faced with those who seem to be so far from acknowledging God in their lives. In learning about the life of Saint Augustine one can share with him the praising of our Divine Physician.

     Through reading his Confessions, and most recently watching the Restless Heart movie, the life of this beloved Saint became even more alive and significant to me. I was reminded of the immense power of our Lord's love and mercy, and the depths that He travels in order to call even the most lost sheep home to Him and home to truth.

      Saint Augustine corrects and humbles me when I am faced with shame in looking back at my past. He calls me to see the grace and the healing power of my Lord. I recognize that it is through this process of conversion and witness that one can come to see the undeniable truth of God's will for us, and the truth of His existence.

     This truth and the power of conversion is the very thing that I was skeptical about prior to being brought to my knees in tears of surrender. Any sense of doubt was silenced by the surrounding of God's grace in my brokenness and unworthiness. A life that once seemed full of "fun"and  told by others to be solely "youthful experience" was essentially one that led me to the most destruction and emptiness. It was a life full of falsity and lies that has somehow become quite customary within our Western culture. 

   I share the sentiments of Saint Augustine when hearing of my "former life" being brought forward.  It was once a source of great humiliation for me, but by further surrender I realized that it is truly a means of praising my Physician and of leading others toward Him.

   The life of Saint Augustine is not one to be dismissed as solely an "ancient" reality, but a life that is still very relevant today. Through God's grace, it is a testimony that is capable of converting the lost and simultaneously one that reminds the faithful of the destruction of sin. Saint Augustine's written testimony leads each of us to the Divine Author and Physican who is all loving and merciful beyond our understanding. (C.C.)

   

    "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe."(St.Augustine)