Two Inspiring Articles from Henri Nouwen

Enough Light for the Next Step


Often we want to be able to see into the future. We say, "How will next year be for me? Where will I be five or ten years from now?" There are no answers to these questions. Mostly we have just enough light to see the next step: what we have to do in the coming hour or the following day. The art of living is to enjoy what we can see and not complain about what remains in the dark. When we are able to take the next step with the trust that we will have enough light for the step that follows, we can walk through life with joy and be surprised at how far we go. Let's rejoice in the little light we carry and not ask for the great beam that would take all shadows away.

Stepping over Our Wounds


Sometimes we have to "step over" our anger, our jealousy, or our feelings of rejection and move on. The temptation is to get stuck in our negative emotions, poking around in them as if we belong there. Then we become the "offended one," "the forgotten one," or the "discarded one." Yes, we can get attached to these negative identities and even take morbid pleasure in them. It might be good to have a look at these dark feelings and explore where they come from, but there comes a moment to step over them, leave them behind and travel on.

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Bread For The Journey


A Daybook Of Wisdom And Faith

This ambitious undertaking clearly stands out, taking a place of its own in the Nouwen collection. Responding to a request from his publishers for a "Thought-a-Day" book, Nouwen rejected the traditional format of making a patchwork of already published material, insisting to his editors, "Everything should be new."He began the task by going into retreat and imposing on himself a strict discipline of rising early and taking pen in hand: "I just sat down each morning, whether I had any ideas or not, and waited until my pen started to move and pull words out of my mind and heart." Four months later he counted 387 reflections. All that remained was to cut the loaf down to the size of the pan and put it in the oven. The final result: a veritable "Summa Nouwenlogica," covering the full sweep of the author's own intensely lived faith journey. Rich fare in small servings for hungry readers on the go. Excellent for gift-giving.