nouwen

To preface, Chad had us read a book about spiritual leadership by Henri Nouwen about one month ago. The book as good, I felt both challenged and encouraged. To fast forward to last week I was at Barnes and Noble picking up a copy of Infinity Blues by Ryan Adams. The poetry section at B&N happens to be right beside the inspirational christian section and my eyes just happened to fall on several books by Henri Nouwen. There was a series who's covers are Van Gogh prints and I picked up one entitled Pathways to Life and the Spirit. The first section is about power, powerlessness, and power (two different types of power incase you were confused). In the conclusion of the first section he talks about three disciplines that we must work towards to achieve this second power. I want to share with you the third discipline (though that are all good and challenging):

The third discipline is the hardest. It is the discipline to be surprised not by suffering but by joy. As we grow old, we will have to stretch out our arms, be guided and led to places we would rather not go. What was true for Peter will be true for us. There is suffering ahead of us, immense suffering, a suffering that will continue to tempt us to think that we have chosen the wrong road and that others were more shrewd that we were. But don't be surprised by pain. Be surprised by joy, be surprised by the little flower that shows its beauty in the midst of a barren desert, and be surprised by the immense healing power that keeps bursting forth like springs of fresh water from the depth of our pain. 

As I read this I smiled thinking about what that means to me right now and how many of my friends also needed to hear those words. This is far from my mentality. If I was honest with myself, I expect joy as much as I expect pain. How much more could I see God if I was surprised by the things He does for me. If I went about my life rejoicing at the moments of joy He gives me instead of seeing them as a given respite from the suffering of life. I hope that the fifth sentence strikes you as it did me. And you are encouraged by the seventh as I am. 

I've been writing blog entries in my head for the past couple of weeks instead of putting down thoughts here, but I have had the same thought the past couple of times , and that is the difference between craving the Lord's presence in my life and practicing the Lord's presence in my life. I crave everything about Him to be everything about me, but I so easily allow the sin in my life to cloud my vision and convince me that I am not able or worthy of achieving this. It's simply a lie. I am worthy, my craving is real and good and I can turn it to practice as easily as I want, I just have to escape the lie. The real answer comes in what Nouwen talks about in the first pathway, the pathway of power. I have to reject the power of the world, realize the powerlessness of Christ's entry into and out of this world, and the power I have in Him. In the classic words of Nike: I've just got to do it. 

p.s. two songs to check out: Two Hands by Jars of Clay

  June by Julie and Buddy Miller

one touches of the issues of the blog and one is a beautiful song written to help Jonny Cash (and others) grieve the loss of June Carter Cash.