01 March 2013

Allowing emptiness

It is very hard to allow emptiness to exist in our lives. 
Emptiness requires a willingness not to be in control, 
a willingness to let something new and unexpected happen. 
It requires trust, surrender, and openness to guidance. 
God wants to dwell in our emptiness. 
But as long as we are afraid of God 
and God's actions in our lives, 
it is unlikely that we will offer our emptiness to God. 
Let's pray that we can let go of our fear of God 
and embrace God as the source of all love. 
Henri Nouwen

leaning in to listen with Sandy

 

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, my! This is such a rich thought. Wow

Mel Kaufman said...

Surrendering Fully is where God wants us to be always!
Emptiness can only be found here on Earth and unfortunately we experience it when we lose a loved one.
Keeping my eyes focused on Jesus always is a guarantee unlike any guarantee here on earth of filling the emptiness within !

elizabeth said...

What an amazing, rich quote.

Unknown said...

Henry Nouwen was a man of divine wisdom and what impresses me so much about him, was how he allowed our God to love others through him!
Have a blessed still Saturday.
Mia

Maureen said...

A powerful quote - wow! lots of food for thought, and great photo to go with it, thinking as we wander the path...

Jody Lee Collins said...

we were just talking about IJohn 3 the other night and how God's perfect love casts out all fear...wonderful quote/reminder, Karin. And a beautiful photo, as always.

caryjo said...

I'm struggling now with some suddenly "new" physical issues I could never have imagined in my life. Can only trust the Lord for the consequences, knowing He loves me.

Good reminder through photo and words.

Lisa notes... said...

Okay, these are words meant for me this morning. I've been learning and attempting to practice centering prayer the past couple weeks, and the emptying hasn't been coming easy. I needed to be reminded that it requires TRUST. This is the second place in less than a few hours He's told me this.

Thanks for sharing Nouwen's words with us. I'm listening...