"Everywhere I am in Thy Presence"

Today marks the 350th anniversary of the birth of one of Christian history's most interesting women, Susanna Annesley Wesley.  The 25th and last child of noted Non-Conformist pastor the Rev. Samuel Annesley and wife Mary, she was reared in a Puritan household where learning and piety went hand-in-hand.  Her father let her have the run of his considerable theological library, and when she decided at around age 13 to abandon her parents' religious tradition in favor of the Church of England, he supported her freedom of conscience enough to stand by her decision, despite any inner dismay he may have felt.  Upon his death, he even made her the executor of that same theological library, a gesture of trust, indeed!

Though she is often lauded as the Mother of Methodism, people are not always aware of the depth of theological and devotional influence she had on her two Methodist sons, John and Charles.  Susanna was their first teacher, home-schooling her sons and daughters in a structured (dare we say "Methodical") manner, ensuring that her daughters no less than her sons were taught to read and write and study scripture for themselves, spending an hour a week with each child alone to discuss any concerns or problems she or he might be facing.  John's time with her was on Thursday evening, and even as a young student at Oxford, he somewhat wistfully wished it were possible for him to have the luxury of that hour with her again on a regular basis.  

She read widely, thought deeply, meditated and prayed faithfully, journaled daily, and wrote a detailed explication of the Apostles' Creed, and she exercised her faith as educator, mother, wife, worship leader (in her husband's absence), and as spiritual director, even to her Oxford-educated clergy sons and others through her letters.  Here is an excerpt from a letter she wrote in 1734 to an unknown young clergyman, freely offering him her thoughts in a forthright yet humble way:

I should not take up on me to advise those that are wiser than myself, nor to teach where I ought to learn, but I think I may without offense to any say that the clergy would do well to consider with what temper and sincerity of mind they reply when they are questioned before they enter into the sacred priesthood, whether they think they are moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon themselves that holy order. Though it is permitted to those who serve the altar to be partakers with the altar, yet that does by no means justify the entering upon the ministry only for interest without principally regarding the glory of God and the salvation of the souls committed to their cure.

Never anticipating that her words would be read by others, let alone preserved and published as a means of encouragement and challenge to generations of Christians, she left behind not only many letters and her thoughts on the Creed but also numerous prayers, some of which have been adapted and used in Methodist worship services and in private devotions for years.

May you find encouragement in her words as you seek to live into your own Christian calling, whatever your vocation may be, letting her reminder that we are constantly in God's gracious presence be a source of strength and hope in the midst of your struggles against sin and despair.

You, O Lord, have called us to watch and pray.
     Therefore, whatever may be the sin against which we pray, 
     make us careful to watch against it,
      and so have reason to expect that our prayers will be answered.
In order to perform this duty aright,
   grant us grace to preserve a sober, equal temper,
   and sincerity to pray for your assistance. Amen.

Help me, Lord, to remember 
     that religion is not to be confined to the church, or closet, 
     nor exercised only in prayer, 
     but that everywhere I am in thy presence.  
So may my every word and action have a moral content.  
     May all things instruct me and afford me an opportunity 
      of exercising some virtue and daily learning 
     and growing toward thy likeness. Amen.