O ye friends of 'Abdu'l-Baha! The tumult of the nations and
the clamour of their peoples are certain and inevitable in the Day of the
Manifestation of the Most Great Name. The wisdom of this irrevocable decree is
clear and evident. For when the winds of tests blow, the frail trees are
uprooted while the blessed trees are made firm and immovable. Torrents of rain
distress and scatter the creeping things that walk upon the earth while the gardens
are filled with anemones and bring forth roses and sweet herbs, and the
nightingales warble their melodies, chanting a myriad songs at every moment.
This is a bounty unto the righteous and a calamity unto those who are weak.
Render thanks unto God that your feet are firm and your faces, like pure gold,
are aglow in the fire of tests. I beseech the one true God that day by day ye
may increase in firmness and steadfastness.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a Tablet;
compilation: ‘Give Me Thy Grace to Serve Thy Loved Ones’, prepared by the
International Teaching Centre for the Continental Counsellors and their
Auxiliaries, May 2018)
