I sought the Lord and he answered me... Psalm 34:4
The love of the father embraces not just the return of the son but also the leaving of his child. That's really important: the whole movement of leaving and returning is a movement done under the loving eyes of the father. The father does not say, "Don't go." That's not the spirit of the story. The spirit of the story is, "Yes, son, go. And you will be hurt and it will be hard and it will be painful. And you might even lose your life, but I can't hold you from taking that risk. And when you come back, I am here for you, just as I am also here for you now."
In a very deep way, you in your life, are always leaving and returning. It's not just a one time event; it's an ongoing experience. So today, get in touch with your leavings and your returnings. I believe that in a very deep sense, one has to be convinced of God's love in order to take the risk of leaving once in a while. There are moments when you may want to take a step back and go off for a while, and then come back. Try to believe that God loves you as a person who's leaving and returning. Try to believe God awaits your return.
Thank you, Father, for letting me go and taking me back.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Finally, a devotion that leaves me feeling only encouraged about where I am in life!
The part that struck me the most here was this statement, "In a very deep way, you in your life, are always leaving and returning. It's not just a one time event; it's an ongoing experience. So today, get in touch with your leavings and your returnings."
I realize full well that i often "leave" God. I realize that we all do, in the sense that Henri Nouwen uses it here. We leave our communal time with God to go out and doe things, serve, live, entertain ourselves, seek adventure, etc. While we never "leave" God's presence, because he is always everywhere, in a Father/son relationship kind of way, we leave his immediate covering everyday to seek to do things ourselves. And, encouragingly, Henri says this is totally normal. Phew.
As encouraging as this is, there is a caveat here i think. It's normal to leave, according to Nouwen. And, we will always return. And, God will be waiting with open arms when we do, whether we are returning under good terms or bad. The thing that Nouwen doesn't mention is how often we should be returning. To make a long explanation short, i think that when we "pay attention to our leavings and returnings" we should hope to find that we do a lot of it, everyday. If we realize that we are leaving on a Monday, and don't realize a returning until Friday, then we have taken something that is normal and extended it beyond its benefit.
I only mention this because i have a tendency to do what i described above. When i am close to God, i branch out and pay less attention to my walk with him. Until I feel totally lost and alone. Then, i return. My goal for myself is to accept that i will leave, but to be sure that i return as often as possible.
I totally know what you're talking about. I have had the tendency to leave for periods longer than I should and have found myself feeling lost and alone and it's always that point when you return. I am fining myself more so in the daily leaving and returning now and it is much more comforting and fulfilling than leaving for long periods.
Post a Comment