Trapped In Urgency

 



Imagine upon waking yesterday finding this prayer in my inbox. Having spent a restless night filled with despair for the world I was able to pray this several times and feel the balm, the calm surround my soul. Rest in the love and mercy. I share it now that you too might be freed even momentarily from the snare of urgency:  


Life passes by swiftly. Events that a few years ago kept me totally preoccupied have now become vague memories; conflicts that a few months ago seemed so crucial in my life now seem futile and hardly worth the energy; inner turmoil that robbed me of my sleep only a few weeks ago has now become a strange emotion of the past; books that filled me with amazement a few days ago now do not seem as important; thoughts that kept my mind captive only a few hours ago have now lost their power and have been replaced by others. . . . Why am I continuously trapped in this sense of urgency and emergency? Why do I not see that you are eternal, that your kingdom lasts forever, and that for you a thousand years are like one day? O Lord, let me enter into your presence and there taste the eternal, timeless, everlasting love with which you invite me to let go of my time-bound anxieties, fears, preoccupations, and worries. . . . Lord, teach me your ways and give me the courage to follow them. Amen. (Henri Nouwen)

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