Voices

Over the years, I have come to realize that the greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity, or power, but self-rejection… Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the “Beloved.”

Henri Nouwen

Hello everyone,

I’m baa-aack!

It has been some time since I last posted anything. The reason I haven’t written anything here is that I was busy writing a book, Experiencing Grace. I have just sent the first draft to the publisher and now I have time once again to devote to this blog. (The book should be out before Christmas. Stay tuned for more updates.)

Perhaps the most difficult part of writing a book is believing that you have something worthwhile to say. There are a multitude of critical voices in your head (at least in mine) that try to convince you that you’re not good enough, not smart enough, etc. Those voices can drown out the voice that says you have a purpose and something important to share.

Of course, those self-critical voices affect everyone, not just writers. Since Sunday I have been meditating on the words of Psalm 25, which was the appointed reading for the day. It is listed as a psalm of David in which he asks for God’s protection from his enemies.  David, of course, had a number of enemies and his life was often in danger.

¹ O Lord, I give my life to you.
²     I trust in you, my God!
   Do not let me be disgraced,
    or let my enemies rejoice in my defeat.
³ No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced,
    but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others.

Psalm 25 (NLT)

But, as I have thought about it, I have come to realize that the most dangerous enemies we have are internal, not external. These enemies are the insidious voices which lie to us, telling us we are unloved, unworthy and unwelcome. They are hard to ignore, but they only have as much power as we allow them to have. There is another voice, a voice we can trust, which assures us that we are loved, that we do have value. This is the voice of God.

It is important that we listen to this voice, because we don’t live to ourselves. If we are to love one another as we love ourselves, then we must first learn to love ourselves. Only when we learn to value ourselves can we value others and love them as we are called to do.

You are sent into this world to believe in yourself as God’s chosen one and then to help your brothers and sisters know that they are also Beloved Sons and Daughters of God who belong together. You’re sent into this world to be a people of reconciliation.

Henri Nouwen

For many years I believed the lie that it is selfish to love yourself.  It isn’t. To love yourself is to trust the One who created you and to affirm God’s love for all of God’s children. The world needs love and it starts with you.