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Julian of NorwichA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Julian proceeds to the fifteenth revelation. Because of the immediate absence of God and our many sufferings, we have a natural desire to be taken from this life and go to heaven. However, we have God's assurance that suffering will pass, and we will see him in eternal bliss in heaven. God is pleased and rewards us when we bear this life with patience, fixing our thoughts upon him.
As an illustration of how human life passes into heavenly life, Julian sees a vision of a formless, ugly body lying on the earth, out of which suddenly springs a figure of a beautiful little child.
Those who choose God for love will be loved eternally by God in return. Our attitude in this life should be one of holy, respectful fear of God combined with humility, treating all our sufferings lightly and lovingly trusting in God. God alone is to be feared, not the Enemy, since the Enemy is in God's control. My bond with God must be as personal as if he did everything for me alone.
The sixteenth showing occurs on the following night and is the culmination and summation of all the showings. As long as the previous showings lasted, Julian felt relief from her physical pain.