The Messenger That Goes Before: Reading Margaret Fell for Spiritual Nurture

As I have explored letters of spiritual guidance written by early Friends, I have been especially nourished by the words of Margaret Fell. Time and again I have found her words to be just the advice I needed to hear, even though at times I might rather not admit at first how pertinent her words are to my inward state. To me she has a great gift for depicting the drama of the spiritual life, and she has a way of engaging the reader in that drama.

Margaret Fell's words have spoken to me very personally. In mourning and grief after the death of a friend, when my heart felt heavy and when horizons felt narrowed, Margaret Fell's words reminded me that the Light is arisen within us, that the word of God is very near, within our hearts. This inner Word, she wrote, is alive and powerful, able to preserve us in times of trial, when storms and tempests beat us down.