Turn My Mourning Into Dancing: Finding Hope in Hard Times
Posted Wed, 01/12/2011 - 8:28pm by Sharon Knudson
When loss or tragedy hits, catching us off-guard (which it always does), the questions start. Where is God? Does He know what’s happening? Does He care? What, if anything, is He doing in and through this?
Our natural impulse is to run from the pain, block it out, and find ways to soothe and medicate ourselves. Yet the Lord wants to teach us that through suffering, we can see His loving hand all the more clearly, and we can bring our wounds to Him for healing.
In his book, Turn My Mourning into Dancing, Henri Nouwen shows us the compassionate heart of Jesus, who said, “Blessed are those who mourn” (Matthew 5:4). His chapters show us how we can embrace our pain, process it in a way that is pleasing to God, and be filled with unquenchable joy. “Five Movements through Hard Times” include,
- from our little selves to a larger world
- from holding tight to letting go
- from fatalism to hope
- from manipulation to love
- from a fearful death to a joyous life
Honestly embracing suffering goes far beyond our futile attempts to “act happy.” If we can give ourselves and our futures over to God, we can rest assured that no matter what comes, He is with us.
Nouwen says, “No one can truly say with certainty where he or she will be ten or twenty years from now. You do not know if you will be free or in captivity, if you will be honored or despised, if you will have many friends or few, if you will be liked or rejected. But when you hold these dreams and fears lightly, you can be open to receive every day as a new day, and to live your life as a unique expression of God’s love for humankind.”