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blogging101, Faith and Writing, Journaling, Lent 2016, Quotes, Reflections, Writing 101, Writing Prompts
Lent Photo-A-Day (February 10 – March 27, 2016)
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Day 21 — Healing
Healing is another one of those action words. I feel like I’ve had my fair share of wounding in the past, especially from childhood experiences, but one thing I’ve found is that sharing my own vulnerabilities can call forth healing in others.
Henri Nouwen, one of my favorite authors, has been such an inspiration to me. My favorite book of his is The Wounded Healer. Nouwen understood that one of the best ways to heal yourself was to help heal others. He said:
In our own woundedness, we can become a source of life for others.
I hold on to that thought, and it’s why I do a lot of what I do with the Care Ministry at our church. I try to keep Nouwen’s attitude and questions in my mind as I go about my life. He asks us:
Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone’s face? Did I say words of healing? Did I let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love? These are the real questions. I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will bear many fruits, here in this world and the life to come.
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Picture Credit: www.soulschoolonline.com
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By Frank Hamilton – http://www.henrinouwen.org/, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27248126
Henri Jozef Machiel Nouwen, (Nijkerk, January 24, 1932 – Hilversum, September 21, 1996) was a Dutch Catholic priest, professor, writer and theologian. His interests were rooted primarily in psychology, pastoral ministry, spirituality, social justice and community. After nearly two decades of teaching at academic institutions including the University of Notre Dame, Yale Divinity School and Harvard Divinity School, Nouwen went on to work with mentally and physically handicapped people at the L’Arche Daybreak community in Richmond Hill, Ontario. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.)
Impromptu Promptlings 
They do say that the careers we choose are reflections of the things we need to learn ourselves 🙂
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I’ve heard that before, too. Good point.
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taking care of others has pretty much been in my blood. It’s as natural to me as breathing. I do agree that it helps us with self-healing. It also serves as a focal point when we get stuck in our own places.
I remember, when I was working for the ARC, here, that when I’d find myself wrestling with my anxiety, the minute one of the people from the workshop would come into my office, being there for them, help take me out of my own fears.
Well done post!
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Me, too. That’s exactly how it works for me. If my ladies need something, I forget all about my problems…
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Love this post…and Henri Nouwen!
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I really have a hard time deciding which of his books I like the best. I loved “Return of the Prodigal Son”, too. We studied that for one of our women’s retreats. He was just getting ready to do some sort of movie for that one when he had his heart attack and died. Such a loss.
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