Did you notice that just now?
That unexpected spaciousness in the midst of 
everything trying to get through the door at once. 
A delicious “Ahhhh!” 
A sense that it’s going to be fine. 
It is fine. 

You keep thinking you need 
more days with nothing scheduled, 
more weeks of walking on the beach 
or puttering in the kitchen 
as if spaciousness only lives there 
and not here 
wedged between 
computer malfunctions 
and untimely requests. 

You only need to put your mother-hands on your heart 
or cup your face with your child-hands, 
take a deep breath and let 
your heart come down from the ledge 
your mind notice its thoughts 
your body remember its wholeness. 

All you need at this moment 
you already have. 

Did you hear that just now? 
That skeptical thought? 
Don’t shoo it away. 
Some part of you doesn’t quite believe Me 
but it wants to. 

Hold that part of you in your mother-arms 
close  your eyes 
and take it with you 
back into that spaciousness 
you felt 
just now. 

You calm the roar of the seas and the noise of the waves.
–Psalm 65:7 (GNT)

∗ ∗ ∗

Love Mischief for the World

“Befriend your feeling of loneliness. Befriend that loss,” I heard Nouwen say in a recording of a talk he gave to a L’Arche gathering in 1994 entitled “Finding our Sacred Centre. Many years ago, reading Henri Nouwen’s The Way of the Heart set my heart on pilgrimage. I wrote about this profound experience in the opening chapter of Stories of an Everyday Pilgrim. So I was delighted to discover the Now and Then Podcasts. In these podcasts, Karen Pascal, executive director of the Henri Nouwen Society interviews spiritual writers, thinkers, and leaders who have been influenced by Nouwen such as Sister Joan Chittister, Brian McLaren, and Anne Lamott. There are also recordings of talks Henri Nouwen gave. What a gift.

What love mischief are you and God doing for the world?
Let me know and I will include it in an upcoming post.

Credits and References:
“Calm & Chaos 11” by A K. Used with permission.
“Calm” by Mike Green. Used with permission.
Photo of Henri Nouwen Creative Commons.

© Esther Hizsa, An Everyday Pilgrim, 2022.
The unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without permission from Esther Hizsa is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used provided there is a link to the original content and credit is given as follows: © Esther Hizsa, An Everyday Pilgrim 2013-2022.  http://www.estherhizsa.com