Editor’s Note: We’re working out why, but we weren’t able to edit the author listed for this article. Dale Morris wrote today’s article, not Abby Smith as listed.

In May this year we spent a few days in Antwerp, Belgium (travelling entirely by train! Very satisfying). One reason for the trip was to visit the home and workshop (now a printing museum) of Christophe Plantin, 1520-1589. My husband trained as a graphic designer and over his career has become very experienced with the whole process of printing books. As a proofreader, I too have learned the specific details of how books are published. 

This museum – a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005 – has an exceptional collection of typographical materials, and holds the world’s two oldest surviving printing presses. And there’s an extra reason for a New Church person to appreciate it – the reason the Word was given to this planet, of all those in the universe, was because eventually PRINTING developed here. Isn’t that amazing?

“The Word could be written in our world, because the art of writing existed here from the most ancient times, at first on tablets, then on parchment, later on paper, and finally it could be disseminated in print. The Lord’s providence caused this for the sake of the Word.” Worlds in Space 115 

“The art of printing is indeed a sort of Messiah amongst inventions.” Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

“The invention of printing is the greatest event in history. It is the mother of all revolution, a renewal of human means of expression from its very basis. Printed thoughts are everlasting, provided with wings, intangible and indestructible. They soar like a crowd of birds, spread in all four directions and are everywhere at the same time.” Victor Hugo

“The whole world admits unhesitatingly, and there can be no doubt about this, that Gutenberg’s invention [the printing press] is the incomparably greatest event in the history of the world.” Mark Twain

As we wandered through the rooms we learned more and more about what this printing house accomplished. There were replicated books we could leaf through – maps, Bibles, philosophical discourses, illustrated natural history books, dictionaries; pages showing three or more languages all saying the same thing; actual pages of very old books and documents (including a double spread of marked-up proofs: the proofreading symbols used in 1560 are virtually the same as those I have used! Despite not having a clue what the words were, I could understand what was being corrected, and how); real typecases filled with rows of real metal type, in different alphabets, in a room full of real printing presses. 

There were videos showing how metal type was made – a surprisingly detailed and intricate process – and working models you could have a go with. The tools of the printing trade are myriad, and the number of different skills needed by people working there was astonishing. Getting a leaflet, let alone a book, from idea to publication was complicated back in the 16th century: those who undertook to do that work were skilled and dedicated craftsmen and women. 

By the time we finished (3 hours later!) we’d become more deeply aware that this process – printing – was a vital part of the spread of knowledge throughout the world, from the Reformation through to the Age of Enlightenment. It produced a virtual explosion of information, made accessible to far more people than verbal stories or hand-copied manuscripts could reach. Sebastian Brant, a 16th century poet, said, “What the rich man of yesterday and the king possessed are now found even in the most modest of homes, namely a book. Thanks first be to the gods, but also immedately thereafter to the printers who master the oustanding art so cheaply through their ceaseless efforts.”

Thanks be to the gods indeed – or rather to the Lord and His providence. This inspiring visit made me feel, deep down and humbling, that the proofreading skills I used to check the digitized versions of Potts’ Concordance and Dole’s Bible Study Notes have enabled me to play my own tiny part – not much more than a single apostrophe – in spreading knowledge of the Word and the Lord, via the internet, throughout the world.

“A Kingdom of uses.” Sometimes a phrase I  have known since childhood takes on new meaning with a new state in MY life. This happened to me this summer, a season full of unexpected developments—a long-awaited sailing trip in Greenland, an epic 6-day journey home, my mom’s death, a stent for my husband’s heart, a re-injured head for a niece, and a family reunion at memorial service time. It may seem like an unlikely time to discuss use, but now that fall is here and life is settling down, I notice things that I did not see before, that seem to live out this idea of a “kingdom of uses.”

I did not start out the summer thinking much about the kingdom of uses. First, there was a long-planned adventure. My husband Mark and I joined another couple to sail in Greenland together, a rare opportunity. As it turned out, this trip was dampened almost from the start with the realization that my mom was failing, maybe this time finally.  By the time we got far enough north to take ferries and flights back south, it was clear that we might not get back in time to say good-bye. While Mark and I were flying over the fjords of Greenland, he in the pilot cockpit in a most unusual turn of events (another side story), the most beautiful flight imaginable, my mom made that transition to the spiritual world.

I have a vivid memory of singing a particular song at school chapel when I was a child, an inspiring hymn with words written by two New Churchmen, which began: “As warriors true before the Lord we stand, In battle front awaiting His command.”  This hymn is included in the church liturgy we use in my local congregation, in a short section of hymns entitled “Spiritual Battle.”  

I have been thinking about the messages about spiritual life that we tell ourselves and our kids.  In my experience, we often emphasize being truly loving and kind people, and that message is incredibly important and must always be present, tempering all our words and actions.  But true love and true kindness require more than making ourselves and others “feel happy” in the moment.  Equally important is another message which often seems to get less attention, a message that can be incredibly inspiring to both us and our children:  “Work to be a person who shows courage and endurance by standing up for or holding on to what is true and what is truly loving in the face of the outright attacks or subtle resistance that the forces of evil place in your path.”

Around this time last year, I was in the throes of navigating a conflict of moral values with a dear friend. The process was one of painful reflection and growth and I thought that perhaps some of my discoveries along the way might prove useful to others who find themselves in similar rocky situations. 

Insight #1: “Live and let live” only works to a point.
In my recent experience, the point of no return was when my friend started actively living in spiritual disorder. It was one thing to know she believed in and supported this disorder. After all, this errant belief wasn’t her entire identity, and we had lots in common outside this realm of friction. That’s why the friendship worked as long as it did. But when she embraced this disorder and it became an active part of her daily life, then I knew something had to change. 

Insight #2: Healthy boundaries begin and end with safety.
I had to reflect long and hard on the extent to which I could express my abiding care and respect for this friend while not condoning lifestyle choices that I believe are in spiritual disorder. Similarly, she had to express her own boundaries, given my opposing beliefs. In other words, we both needed to feel safe in our relationship. In order to do that, we had to accept each other’s boundaries. We ultimately realized that this wasn’t possible and that the friendship had run its course. Wishing this friend farewell was the right thing to do given the circumstances, and it was also one of the hardest things I have ever willingly chosen to do.

Insight #3: I can only control my choices and reactions.
I had to let go of this person’s reactions to my stating my boundaries. I had no control over her feelings or her choices. I only had control over mine. Letting go of her responses to my boundaries was a really arduous process. After all, I like being liked. It tore me up thinking that someone I held dear might hold my values in contempt. In this process, I developed a nasty tendency to fabricate imaginary “what if” conversations and scenarios in which I spoke for both myself and my friend. Doing that is just a tangled up terrible idea. I can’t predict the reactions of others. I can’t control their reactions either. I have to let the “what ifs” go and hold firm to my truth, as lovingly as I can.

Insight #4: Where moral principles are concerned, honesty is okay even if it hurts.
One of the hardest things about defining and then communicating my moral boundaries was that it resulted in hurting someone I care about very much. A distaste for conflict and a fear of forever altering (and ultimately damaging) a relationship I had cherished, meant that it took me an embarrassingly long time to stand up for my beliefs. Drawing it out like that led to my friend feeling betrayed. That wasn’t fair to either of us. I wish I had spoken up sooner, but the hells really like to use pain as a weapon. They wanted to make me feel guilty for causing pain. They also wanted me to fear feeling pain. But spiritual growth and boundary-setting can and will be painful sometimes. Pain doesn’t mean it’s wrong. I regret that I may have deepened the pain by waiting so long to set my boundaries, but I don’t regret setting them. 

Insight #5: Balancing compassion and zeal is crucial.
Of course, it’s important to set boundaries as compassionately and respectfully as possible. It isn’t wrong to care about hurting another person’s feelings. We are supposed to care! But, as I navigated this difficult situation with my friend, I found myself slipping so far into guilt and worry about her reactions, that I nearly forgot why I was setting these boundaries in the first place. Something I love, something I believe the Lord tells us is right and good, was being violated. It was right to stand up for it. I could honor her free will to reject what I believe, but I had to put just as much, if not more energy into remembering why I’ve chosen to uphold this belief. 

Insight #6: Pray, accept your choice, and move on.
Dealing with this moral conflict was a huge growing experience for me. I had to pray a lot, asking the Lord for guidance on what to say and for confidence that I was doing the right thing, even if it was hard. I did not handle this situation perfectly. But I can confidently say that I did my best to follow the Lord’s teachings. That’s as much as I can ask of myself or of anyone. After that, I had to pray for the willingness to hand the situation over to the Lord and move forward on my own spiritual journey. I trust that my friend, like all human beings, is in His loving hands. I don’t have to carry this burden anymore. He’s got it. 

“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.

Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

Matthew 10:16-31