November 9, 2009 7:13 AM
Henri Nouwen on Gratitude
Focusing on this spiritual wisdom for the next two weeks could make this a Thanksgiving like no other. Wouldn't it be wonderful to plant this seed in your children as well, inviting them to discuss the painful things they've confronted in their lives in light of how God might have used it? Think how strong and resilient they will become:
"To be grateful for the good things that happen in our lives is easy, but to be grateful for all of our lives--the good as well as the bad, the moments of joy as well as the moments of sorrow, the successes as well as the failures, the rewards as well as the rejections-- that requires hard spiritual work.Still, we are only truly grateful people when we can say thank you to all that has brought us to the present moment. As long as we keep dividing our lives between events and people we would like to remember and those we would rather forget, we cannot claim the fullness of our beings as a gift of God to be grateful for.
Let us not be afraid to look at everything that has brought us to where we are now and trust that we will soon see in it the guiding hand of a loving God."
~Henri Nouwen, Bread for the Journey
Posted in Inspiration | Permalink
Comments
Thank you for this post. A great lesson to be learned!
Posted by: A Mac and a Mug O' Joe | November 9, 2009 8:55 AM
Thanks so much for this today Barbara.
My compass has been swinging wildly lately and it has been so hard to stay focused on what really matters. Your blog was the place that I found to point me in the direction that I needed to be going today!
Thanks Be To God for all the gifts He has given us!
Posted by: Jennifer | November 9, 2009 9:33 AM
I am in the process of trying to focus my attention more in this very direction and I appreaciate the shared wisdom.
Also, I ran across a bit of local news that you might be interested in for adding to your list of Down syndrome books: http://www2.nbc13.com/vtm/news/local/article/coach_gene_stallings_updates_book_with_sons_death/107514/
Posted by: Michelle | November 9, 2009 5:51 PM
Thank you Barbara! This is exactly what I needed today--a reminder to praise in ALL things, not just when life is going my way. I'm realizing that it isn't neccesarily difficult to be grateful for the difficult things after they are over and I see how God worked through them. It's praising him while I'm still in the wilderness that is tough. But I'm learning. Thanks again for this powerful post.
Posted by: Jeanette | November 9, 2009 9:26 PM
We have so much to be thankful for.. and for the imperfections, well Jesus is coming back soon. We really do need to remember to be thankful...
Posted by: Lisa | November 9, 2009 10:29 PM
Thank you too- with the legislation going through Congress and the terrorist attack at home, I've been very tempted to focus on the negative and forget that He is in control and that He has a reason for all things. Who knows? Maybe the "chastisement" our country may be beginning to endure will win many hearts for the Lord? I'll say thanks for that:).
Posted by: Sarah | November 10, 2009 8:54 AM
