The spiritually mature affirm the value of hiddenness for those who wish to grow in love. To experience the hidden loving Companion Presence brings the greatest joy. This is the life of the simple ... the life of everyday. In the silent, hidden growth from acorn to oak can be seen the mystery and fulness of life. A seed is planted and forgotten. And suddenly one day the plant is there. Only in such hiddeness do miracles of growth occur. The same is true for the spiritual life. The Spirit plants the seed of divine union within the soul. For years this seed may be forgotten. Then one day, imperceptibly yet with determination, it will start to grow. Growth is such a quiet thing.
All through her life, nature had been for Madeleva "beauty's self and beauty's giver." Through it, the divine revealed itself in natural ephiphanies:
Can I not find you in all winds that blow,
In the wild loneliness of lark and plover,
In slender shadow trees upon the snow?
This poem suggests that her prayers had gone beyond words; apparently, only silence could express them. If simplicity, in prayer as in life, is a sign of maturing sanctity, then Madeleva's inner life would seem to have deepened through the years.