Perspective

One of my friends has been re-reading the book, "Gracias" by one of our favorite authors, Henri Nouwen. In follow up to a conversation we had a few weeks ago, he typed out the following excerpt from the book and emailed it to me. I'm thankful for friends that care about my soul and that love me enough to push me closer to dependency on Christ alone.

This is from Nouwen's journal during his travels in Latin America:
"Today, I realized that the question of where to live and what to do is really insignificant compared to the question of how to keep the eyes of my heart focused on the Lord. I can be teaching at Yale, working in the bakery at the Genesee Abbey, or walking around with poor children in Peru and feel totally useless, miserable, and depressed in all these situations. I am sure of it, because it has happened. There is not such a thing as the "right place" or the "right job." I can be happy and unhappy in all situations. I am sure of it, because I have been. I have felt distraught and joyful in situations of abundance as well as poverty, in situations of popularity and anonymity, in situations of success and failure. The difference was never based on the situation itself, but always on my state of mind and heart. When I knew that I was walking with the Lord, I always felt happy and at peace. When I was entangled in my own complaints and emotional needs, I always felt restless and divided. It is simple truth that comes to me in a time when I have to decide about my future. Coming to Lima or not for five, ten, or twenty years is no great decision. Turning fully, unconditionally, and without fear to the Lord is. I am sure this awareness sets me free to look around here without much worrying and binds me to the holy call to pray unceasingly."