Thou dear handmaid

I have turned into a sneak thief. Our friend Deb downloads beautiful quotes from Baha'i scripture, prints short selections and attaches them to construction paper. This was the quote that attracted me yesterday:

O thou dear handmaid of God! If only thou couldst know what a high station is destined for those souls who are severed from the world, are powerfully attracted to the Faith, and are teaching, under the sheltering shadow of Baha'u'llah! How thou wouldst rejoice, how thou wouldst, in exultation and rapture, spread thy wings and soar heavenward--for being a follower of such a way, and a traveler toward such a Kingdom.

~'Abdu'l-Baha

I happened to drop this, and on picking it up, couldn't resist placing it for safekeeping into my prayer book. Deb, I owe you something good! This is strange to me, as it doesn't fit my image of myself as honest and upstanding.

This type of quotation used to produce a jealous response in me, which over time has faded to a thought of, "good for them!" I don't imagine that I fit, or could ever fit, the descriptions of these exalted beings. The words are intended to inspire the reader to aspire to these qualities.