Joined: 12/16/2011
Posts: 2823
|
Henri
Nouwen writes…
What
to do with our losses? . . . We must mourn our losses. We cannot talk or act
them away, but we can shed tears over them and allow ourselves to grieve
deeply. To grieve is to allow our losses to tear apart feelings of security and
safety and lead us to the painful truth of our brokenness. Our grief makes us
experience the abyss of our own life in which nothing is settled, clear, or
obvious, but everything is constantly shifting and changing. . . . But in the
midst of all this pain, there is a strange, shocking, yet very surprising
voice. It is the voice of the One who says: “Blessed are those who mourn; they
shall be comforted.” That’s the unexpected news: there is a blessing hidden in
our grief. Not those who comfort are blessed, but those who mourn! Somehow, in
the midst of our tears, a gift is hidden. Somehow, in the midst of our
mourning, the first steps of the dance take place. Somehow, the cries that well
up from our losses belong to our songs of gratitude.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and
saves those who are crushed in spirit. PSALM
34:18 (NIV)
|
Joined: 1/1/2012
Posts: 1910
|
I'm glad to see you here again, George. Your posts are always so comforting. I have had many losses in my life, of varying degrees, and this piece by Nouwen hits close to home for me. This makes me more willing to take that first step of the dance, and beyond, and to find that gift hidden in our tears.
|
Joined: 1/25/2018
Posts: 756
|
My comforting must have gotten lost in the mail.
|