weakness part 1

In our culture the strong, beautiful, rich, and powerful are admired and praised. Even in Christian culture we embrace those things. In the very least, we all want to have something to offer. We read the Beatitudes, but don't understand what Jesus said. Truly, blessed are those who have no voice, those who have suffered great loss, those who have nothing to offer....

I was reading "Adam: God's Beloved" by Henri Nouwen, which is about his friendship with a severely disabled man, and was really struck by this:

"Murray told me later that during the next thirty minutes as he sat with Adam he began to recognize him not as a disabled man completely different from himself, but as a beautiful human being who shared with him many vulnerabilities. Although Murray was a very successful businessman, he had his own struggles, his own fears, his own experiences of failure, his own disabilities. ... Adam, by his eyes and his presence, said to us, 'Don't be afraid. You don't have to run away from your pain. Look at me, be close to me, and you will discover that you are God's beloved child, just as I am.'"

Maybe that affects me more than the majority of people who haven't had the experiences I've had. Working with people who profess vulnerability through living with various degrees of dependence has shown me that, when I'm honest, I'm really not so different.

I'm weak even when I pretend to be strong, I'm ignorant even when I think I know it all.



*pictures are of the painting Emma and I did today