If indeed the spiritual life is essentially a hidden life, how do we protect this hiddenness in the midst of a very public life? The two most important ways to protect our hiddenness are solitude and poverty. Solitude allows us to be alone with God. There we experience that we belong not to people, not even to those who love us and care for us, but to God and God alone. Poverty is where we experience our own and other people's weakness, limitations, and need for support. To be poor is to be without success, without fame, and without power. But there God chooses to show us God's love.
Both solitude and poverty protect the hiddenness of our lives.Henri Nouwen, Bread for the Journey
In many ways, here is the answer to my question yesterday. God in his grace has given me a little of each in this life I find myself leading these days, and it is quite remarkable how he has made it possible for me to live, to serve him, and yet to be open to the ordinary calls of my life with Jan, and in this village. I won't say I always appreciate his grace for what it is, nor that I always make proper use of all that he gives me, yet his grace is there, and in crazy abundance. God is good, beyond all we can ask or imagine!
3 comments:
Again, thank you for posting your continuing thoughts on hiddenness. I must say, I feel like I have had enough poverty go on in my life in the past 10 years and would like a bit of richness :) But it is a real encouragement to think of it in those terms :)
Oh Mike! "And His grace is there and in crazy abundance..." Oh Amen to that my brother, amen to that.
-Fran
I really needed to read this today. Thank you.
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