"If push came to shove..."

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So you vowed never to abandon yourself to anyone's hands except God's hands. Only those hands.

I will be faithful above all and after all. This was how you put it. Yes but God's hands, however mighty, were invisible and hard to measure. It was still you who decided, it was still your responsibility.

So that even when Father Sam, in his kindness, said: Do (some specified) thing and you will be purposeful and happy, you had to stop. You stopped and thought.

What if "purpose" took you away from God? What if "happiness" moved you out of God's hands? Wouldn't you rather be close to God than be happy? That is, if push came to shove, and the kingdom of God drew "near".

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