"By the Shore" had a month of "read any Nouwen", so I decided to read a book that had been a gift to me. It was a perfect choice for a busy, busy Christmas season pause. The title? "Life of the Beloved" written in 1992. This was a letter, written to a friend who was secular Jew. Henri Nouwen addressed the question "What is the basis for your spirituality?" He took the tact of teaching the unsaved Fred, the benefits and purpose of being part of God's Kingdom. Unfortunately for Fred, he just didn't "get it" and responded with..."I want to know the basics...God, for example". I had to smile. It's so typical that we share from our place of understanding. It flummoxed Henri and this book was almost not published. I trust that ultimately Fred found his way to God, and to the life he desired to live.

As Henri Nouwen considered the aspects of a yielded life, he touched upon the facts that we are "Taken" or Chosen...the Beloved. We are Blessed, and Broken and finally Given..we are to be giving persons. All of this describes lives that rejoice in life: pain,sorrow, joy and all the stuff in between.

It's a great reminder for all of us who call ourselves Christian. That's exactly how the book became published, many believers found much encouragement in it, and Nouwen had to acknowledge that perhaps that was God's will for his letter,a broader audience.

His instruction to quietly consider...every single day, the beauty of our relationship with our Lord, who calls us "Beloved" as He called his son Jesus "Beloved" resonated with my fearful,insecure self. From that assurance flows all our actions, towards our Lord and towards others in our lives. It put Christmas and all it's activities in proper perspective for me.

Posted by Carol Kerr