Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Nouwen Meditation: The Grateful Life

Now & Then Podcast

This week’s episode of Now & Then features a lecture from Henri Nouwen recorded in 1985. It's a particularly meaningful message for anyone who wrestles with fears and insecurities as Henri encourages us to move from the House of Fear to the House of Love.

DAILY MEDITATION | OCTOBER 13, 2021
The Grateful Life
How can we live a truly grateful life? When we look back at all that has happened to us, we easily divide our lives into good things to be grateful for and bad things to forget. But with a past thus divided, we cannot move freely into the future. With many things to forget we can only limp toward the future.

True spiritual gratitude embraces all of our past, the good as well as the bad events, the joyful as well as the sorrowful moments. From the place where we stand, everything that took place brought us to this place, and we want to remember all of it as part of God’s guidance. That does not mean that all that happened in the past was good, but it does mean that even the bad didn’t happen outside the loving presence of God. . . . Once all of our past is remembered in gratitude, we are free to be sent into the world to proclaim good news to others.
"All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God."

2 CORINTHIANS 4:15 (NIV)
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