Friday, November 10, 2023

Nouwen Meditation: The Blessing Hidden in Grief

Now & Then Podcast


Weaving the challenges of mental health with the life and art of Vincent van Gogh, best-selling author Sharon Garlough Brown's beautiful novel Shades of Light invites readers into a journey of compassion and hope. Join us for a deeply honest and meaningful conversation on this week's Henri Nouwen, Now & Then.


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DAILY MEDITATION | NOVEMBER 10, 2023

The Blessing Hidden in Grief

What to do with our losses? . . . We must mourn our losses. We cannot talk or act them away, but we can shed tears over them and allow ourselves to grieve deeply. To grieve is to allow our losses to tear apart feelings of security and safety and lead us to the painful truth of our brokenness. Our grief makes us experience the abyss of our own life in which nothing is settled, clear, or obvious, but everything is constantly shifting and changing. . . . But in the midst of all this pain, there is a strange, shocking, yet very surprising voice. It is the voice of the One who says: “Blessed are those who mourn; they shall be comforted.” That’s the unexpected news: there is a blessing hidden in our grief. Not those who comfort are blessed, but those who mourn! Somehow, in the midst of our tears, a gift is hidden. Somehow, in the midst of our mourning, the first steps of the dance take place. Somehow, the cries that well up from our losses belong to our songs of gratitude.

Henri J. M. Nouwen
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The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.


PSALM 34:18 (NIV)

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Text excerpts taken from "You are the Beloved"

by Henri J.M. Nouwen

© 2017 by The Henri Nouwen Legacy Trust.

Published by Convergent Books.

Photo from unsplash.com.

Scripture reading contributed by L. Yeskoo.


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