I keep coming across this quote from Henri Nouwen so I guess I need to share it:

More and more, the desire grows in me simply to walk around, greet people, enter their homes, sit on their doorsteps, play ball, throw water, and be known as someone who wants to live with them. It is a privilege to have the time to practice this simple ministry of presence. Still, it is not as simple as it seems.

My own desire to be useful, to do something significant, or to be part of some impressive project is so strong that soon my time is taken up by meetings, conferences, study groups, and workshops that prevent me from walking the streets. It is difficult not to have plans, not to organize people around an urgent cause, and not feel that you are working directly for social progress.

But I wonder more and more if the first thing shouldn’t be to know people by name, to eat and drink with them, to listen to their stories and tell your own, and to let them know with words, handshakes, and hugs that you do not simply like them, but you truly love them. (Henri Nouwen, Gracias: A Latin American Journal (Orbis, 1993), 147-148)

I long for this too. I long to see people’s lives transformed by Jesus as he links with them through me and the members of His body.

But, too often, I struggle with the same things to which Nouwen confesses.

Spend some time this week . . .

  • getting to know people by name
  • eat and drink with someone
  • listen to their stories
  • tell some of your own stories
  • truly love them with words, handshakes and hugs

Grace and Peace,
Terry

Join the Conversation: Have you noticed how difficult it is to be simple? What keeps you from practicing the rhythm of presence?

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Filed under: Life Habits

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