

Do you ever feel you have to earn your place in Heaven by perfect behaviour- or do you doubt your beauty in God's eyes?
If so, you might like to take a few tips from St Therese of Lisieux, a young Carmelite nun who lived in the 19th century and died at the age of 24 from tuberculosis. She was known as ‘the Little Flower’ because she had a great love of nature and often used natural imagery to explain spiritual truths.
Therese saw herself as a wildflower, not visually striking like a rose or a lily, but stronger than she looked from the outside- and she believed that Jesus was fascinated by her. She felt the Lord’s delight and knew that she was blooming under his care.
Therese believed that the world was God’s garden, and each person was a different type of flower, adding to the beauty of the landscape. Some flowers appeared to be more striking than others, but a hidden wildflower was just as beautiful to God.
Before she died, the ‘Little Flower’ wrote a simple and powerful message about trusting in God’s grace and not in our own merits. St Therese understood the message of grace in a unique way within her culture at that time.
She grew up in France under the influence of Jansenism, a theological system that saw God as very exacting and difficult to please. She had been taught that it was necessary to accumulate ‘merits’ in order to get to Heaven – but God showed her that he was a loving father and we should rely on his compassion and mercy rather than our own performance.
Theresa realised that she was a sensitive soul and that God didn’t want her to live in fear of his judgement. She acknowledged that she had both physical and emotional weaknesses, but she knew also that she was loved and accepted, just as she was.
Here are five suggestions based on the writings of this unassuming saint:
1.Approach God as a small child approaches a loving parent, in absolute trust, and God will lift you up in his arms
2.Pray simple, straightforward prayers: Be honest and direct with God
3. Do the ordinary things in life with extraordinary love. Give people your full and undivided attention.
4. Accept your imperfections as a way of drawing close to God. Don’t become obsessed with your own spiritual state but trust God to make you perfect in his time. Focus on loving God and loving others.
5. Commit each day to God in prayer, and listen to the whispers of the Holy Spirit as he leads you. There will never be enough time to complete all the things you would like to do, but if you live prayerfully and let God lead you, He will fulfil his purpose your life. You can relax and trust in his timing and the supernatural rhythms of grace.
If you follow these simple yet profound truths, you will accomplish much and grow in faith.
Let’s be encouraged by the purity of St Therese’s faith and approach our heavenly Father with complete trust in his goodness and faithfulness. And let’s pray every day and see what God can do with our lives. I am convinced he has more planned for us than we could ever imagine!