Good morning…
“The spiritual life starts at the place where you can hear God’s voice,” says the Henri Nouwen meditation from yesterday. “Where somehow you can claim that long before your father, your mother, your brother, your sister, your school, your church touched you, loved you, and wounded you—long before that, you were held safe in an eternal embrace. You were seen with eyes of perfect love long before you entered into the dark valley of life.”
“The spiritual life starts at the moment that you can go beyond all of the wounds and claim that there was a love that was perfect and unlimited, long before that perfect love became reflected in the imperfect and limited, conditional love of people,” reminds Nouwen. “The spiritual life starts where you dare to claim the first love.”
The word that stands out for me from this meditation is voice. The place where we can hear God’s voice is where our spiritual healing begins. Long before we were touched, loved, and wounded by the voices of imperfect people, we were held safe in God’s eternal embrace. We were, are, and always will be seen with eyes of perfect love. God’s unlimited love is the heartbeat of our innermost being.
With me, will you dare to claim this first love? All other voices will fade away as we continue to rest, ear to God’s chest.
Regardless of gender, body type, skin color, and all the wounds inflicted by this world, the music video below helps me to claim my first love. Might singing this song with your very own voice help you claim the endless love God feels for you?
So you see, our love for him comes as a result of his loving us first (1 John 4:19, TLB).
…Sue…
