Staying in the light

As I try to get the courage to come forward and continue on my creative spiritual journey, I face doubt, a doubt that can keep me stuck. I notice such a judgmental and critical voice in myself, but I now know that this voice is an old ingrained habit, and not the truth.

In his book, Life of the Beloved, Henri Nouwen, writes: As I look within as well as around myself, I am overwhelmed by the dark voices telling me, “You are nothing special: you are just another person among millions; your life is just one more mouth to feed; your needs are just more problems to solve.” These voices are increasingly powerful, especially in a time marked by so many broken relationships. In the midst of this extremely painful reality, we have to dare to reclaim the truth that we are God’s chosen ones.

He doesn’t mean that some are chosen and others are not. Later in the text, he says, “The truth, even though I cannot feel it right now, is that I am the chosen child of God, precious in God’s eyes, called the Beloved from all eternity, and held safe in an everlasting embrace.”

Can I keep myself connected to the Divine, so that my actions have an uplifted motion to them, even if I can’t see clearly what I am doing or where I am going? What keeps our lives connected to God and what pulls them away from the Spirit? Notice during your day when you begin to feel disconnected from the deep Source of your life and why, and then make a choice to turn in the direction towards God. Sometimes, I physically turn my body and say, “God, I am turning towards you. Draw me towards You.”