Good morning…
In our therapeutic community group at PAWkids last week, the therapist handed out a simple drawing on a white sheet of paper. She pointed out a universal truth. “We can live in a house of fear or we can live in a house of love.” On the back of my paper, I jotted down these notes.
Looking at a line-up of cards with descriptive words and images for inspiration, on the left side of my paper I jotted down how it feels to live in the house of fear. Resistance. Fail. Busy. Lost. Storm. Threat. Trying. On the right side of my page, I wrote down words I associate with the house of love. Stability. Belonging. Gather. Return. Touch. Inspire. Sent. Welcome. Circle. Kindred. Flight. Wings.
Her final question to us was this: “What helps you move from the house of fear to the house of love?” These words naturally collected in the center of my paper. Tell your story. Surrender. Insight is given. Change. Rise. Response. Saved. Whole. We each talked through our own personal thoughts.
Now revisiting my notes in the middle of the night, our self-reflective exercise reminds me of a famous Henri Nouwen quote. “The whole call of the Gospels is to move from the House of Fear into the House of Love. That is the great news – that God invites us out of the House of Fear into the House of Love, which is the house of freedom – free to move, free to think, free to talk, free to love, free to be together.”
One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life (Psalm 27:4a, NIV).
…Sue…
