Saturday, February 6, 2010

Hope by Henri Nouwen

Hope means to keep living
amid desperation
and to keep humming
in the darkness.
Hoping is knowing that there is love,
it is trust in tomorrow
it is falling asleep
and waking again
when the sun rises.
In the midst of a gale at sea,
it is to discover land.
In the eyes of another
It is to see that he understands you.
....
As long as there is still hope
There will also be prayer.
....
And God will be holding you
in his hands.

Henri Nouwen - With Open Hands

8 comments:

Blue Eyed Ennis said...

Hi ROberta,
It is a while since I read Henri Nouwen and I have forgotten how astute his words always are. Thanks for this lovely reminder to always hope and I shall be humming today.
(On a lighter note you might like to know that Ireland are playing Italy today in Dublin in the first round of the Rugby Internationals). Ireland won the Grand Slam last year for the first time in 61 years and I shall be rooting for them today so hum a few words of encouragement and HOPE please !!
Best wishes
Phil

Jayne said...

I LOVE this Roberta... so beautifully written, and so true. Have a beautiful day.

Unknown said...

I love Henri... ♥ Thanks, Roberta!

Ruth Hull Chatlien said...

This is quite beautiful, and i found it very meaningful.

Jan said...

Thank you, Roberta.

ROBERTA said...

dear phil, rebekah, ruth and jan,

what struck me in particular about this quote was "to keep humming in the darkness"...

and if you can get your hands on a copy of his "with open hands" i'd highly recommend that you do so! i have an original, which was printed in 1972, with the printed price of $1.95 printed on the back cover :)

so keep your eyes open when you visit old book stores...for this is an excellent book on prayer...

VeeKaye said...

This was really nice. Reminds me of Emily Dickenson's poem "Hope".

ROBERTA said...

hmmm....hope is the thing with feathers?