Day 53 of 80

Treasures Freely Bestowed

Chapter X·Manuscript C·Charity & Community
Context
Splashed repeatedly with dirty water during laundry, Thérèse chose to see it as a gift. She calls the dirty water 'treasures freely bestowed.' This is her genius: reframing every irritation as an offering, every slight as a hidden grace.

Another time I was working in the laundry, and the Sister opposite, while washing handkerchiefs, repeatedly splashed me with dirty water. My first impulse was to draw back and wipe my face, to show the offender I should be glad if she would behave more quietly; but the next minute I thought how foolish it was to refuse the treasures God offered me so generously, and I refrained from betraying my annoyance.

On the contrary, I made such efforts to welcome the shower of dirty water, that at the end of half an hour I had taken quite a fancy to this novel kind of aspersion, and I resolved to come as often as I could to the happy spot where such treasures were freely bestowed.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux — Story of a Soul, Chapter X (Manuscript C). Taylor translation, 1912 (public domain).
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