Posts Tagged: Henri Nouwen
“Living in the Now”
Saturday, August 3, 2019
A good reading from Hazelden Publishing:
“Saturday, August 3
To live a spiritual life we must first find the
courage to enter into the desert of loneliness and to change it by gentle and
persistent efforts into a garden of solitude.
—Henri J. M. Nouwen
Knowing our loneliness and admitting it to us is the beginning of a spiritual
path for many men. Today we are on a spiritual journey. We already have the
means to translate the pain of our loneliness into a deeper spiritual
dimension. Most men in this program came in deeply aware of their feelings of
isolation. Now, with the companionship of our Higher Power, we can spend time
alone and use it for spiritual growth. As we develop a relationship with
ourselves and deepen our knowledge of our Higher Power, our loneliness
transforms into solitude.
In this quiet moment today, we can be more accepting of ourselves than we were
in the past. We admit loneliness has caused us pain, but now we can see that it
also can lead us to our deeper self where we find serene solitude. This change
is a movement into the spiritual world.
Thanks to God for the solitude I have found in my life.” (From Touchstones: A Book of Daily
Meditations for Men ©1986, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation.)
To say that I am in way over my head in teaching various courses at the university would be an understatement. Perhaps, though, that enables me to be more sympathetic with my fellow-students of the Word. Maybe we are all in over our heads in life and in our pursuit of the God who has pursued us.
No unchecked regrets today! I went down to the breakfast area for my second cup of coffee this morning, and a young couple with a small child and a baby were having breakfast. I was filled with regret that I did not treat my wife and the kids better.
But God reminded me that I can never go back. There are no re-dos for anything that is worthwhile. There is only this day, and its chances to be patient, kind, and compassionate to others—and even to myself. Regret focuses me on the unalterable past, and keeps me from the awareness of the present chances to love. Real love is always a present-tense verb.
DOWN TO EARTH BELIEVER
- DTEB, “Getting Christ and Ourselves Back in Focus” November 11, 2024“Col. 3:1 ¶ If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Col. 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Col. 3:3 For you have died, and your life is hidden […]
- “Search Me!” October 27, 2024“Psa. 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24, English Standard Version) I am participating in a Bible study, and this is a prayer […]
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- “God is in the Details” October 11, 2024“The devil is in the details.” (A general saying, often quoted by lawyers, reporters, and negotiators.) “God is in the details.” (Me, almost certainly not original.) “Luke 12:7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Jesus) God does not micromanage, but God […]
- “Grandma’s Pump” October 8, 2024When I was a little critter, I would stay at my grandma’s house for a night or two sometimes. I liked this for a lot for many reasons. One thing I liked about staying with her was that Grandma’s house was much more technologically advanced than ours was. For one thing, she had indoor water—sort […]
- “Wearing the #14 Wrong-Side-Out” October 5, 2024Pete Rose, #14, is dead. Many of the old guys with whom I play softball watched him play and appreciated him greatly. I do as well. He was one of the greatest players who ever played the game. Yes, he admitted (eventually) to betting on baseball. But many of us still regard him as one […]
- “Passing Along the Love (and a Link)” October 4, 2024Several years ago, a friend of mine put me onto a daily meditation by Richard Rohr and friends. I don’t read them all the time, but I probably should. They are good! I thought that today’s writing was especially good, and I also figured that this would be a good way to post something. I […]
- “Witnessing Versus Being Witnesses” September 19, 2024“Acts 1:1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, Acts 1:2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. Acts 1:3 He presented himself alive to them after […]
- “A Bathroom Prayer for Hurting Hands” September 11, 2024A week ago Sunday, my hands were hurting so badly at church that I went to the bathroom to run hot water over my hands. Arthritis perhaps, or carpal tunnel, or general orneriness—I don’t know why my hands hurt, but they do. They have for years. So, while I was running hot water over my […]
- “Waiting and Seeking” September 10, 2024“Lam. 3:19 ¶ Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! Lam. 3:20 My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. Lam. 3:21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: Lam. 3:22 ¶ The steadfast love of the LORD […]
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