On diverse paths

We can all follow God 

But He will not lead us all 

to the same place— 

there is no place big enough. 

Nor will He lead us all 

in the same direction— 

there is no road wide enough. 

Nor will He lead us all 

at the same pace— 

there is no faith consistently strong enough.

We can all follow God 

    to the place of His choosing, 

      whether crowded or no; 

    by the way of His choosing, 

      whether well-worn or no; 

    at the pace of His choosing, 

      whether fast or slow. 

     W. S.

On Embracing Inconsistency

The ordinary man has always been sane because the ordinary man has always been a mystic. He has permitted the twilight, the grey area. He has always had one foot in earth and the other in fairy-land. He has always cared more for truth than consistency. If he saw two truths that seemed to contradict each other, he would take the two truths and contradictions along with them. His spiritual sight is stereoscopic, like his physical sight. He sees two different pictures at once, and yet sees all the better for that. Thus he has always believed there was such a thing as faith, but such a thing as free will also. He admired youth because it was young, and age because it was not. It is exactly this balance of apparent contradictions that has been the whole buoyancy of a healthy man. -- G. K. Chesterton