Is Idealism Really a Bad Thing?

Lately I've been in several conversations where idealism is put down. Come to think of it, most of those conversations have involved the same person.

And, as someone who is greatly attracted to idealism - to characters in books, television and movies that display it, to people who demonstrate it - and who has a great deal of idealism in my own thoughts and dreams, I have to ask:

Is idealism really such a bad thing? I mean, wouldn't the world be lacking a lot of really beautiful things if various people hadn't been idealistic enough to believe that they could make a difference, that they could add beauty, in spite of opposition and naysayers?

Lunch with Dad

I'm having lunch with my dad in about 20 minutes. I've actually been kind of dreading it since he called me yesterday to set it up. He wants to talk about church and ministry stuff. I'm not ready to have that conversation yet.

I have a fairly good idea of what he may want to discuss. The trouble is that I have no idea where I stand on those things yet. I'm heading to the mountains this weekend to pray and talk through some of these things. I need time away from the city, and time with trusted friends to verbally process some of this stuff. I don't want to make decisions from a point of feeling like I'm choosing the least unappealing of two unappealing options.

Pray for my lunch meeting if you happen to see this before it's over. Pray for my time away this weekend as I work to make some decisions, and seek Jesus for guidance on what comes next.

Continuing yesterday's Henri Nouwen Theme

Two more bits from Henri Nouwen this morning, continuing the theme from yesterday...

Protecting Our Hiddenness

If indeed the spiritual life is essentially a hidden life, how do we protect this hiddenness in the midst of a very public life? The two most important ways to protect our hiddenness are solitude and poverty. Solitude allows us to be alone with God. There we experience that we belong not to people, not even to those who love us and care for us, but to God and God alone. Poverty is where we experience our own and other people's weakness, limitations, and need for support. To be poor is to be without success, without fame, and without power. But there God chooses to show us God's love.

Both solitude and poverty protect the hiddenness of our lives.

Clinging to God in Solitude

When we enter into solitude to be with God alone, we quickly discover how dependent we are. Without the many distractions of our daily lives, we feel anxious and tense. When nobody speaks to us, calls on us, or needs our help, we start feeling like nobodies. Then we begin wondering whether we are useful, valuable, and significant. Our tendency is to leave this fearful solitude quickly and get busy again to reassure ourselves that we are "somebodies." But that is a temptation, because what makes us somebodies is not other people's responses to us but God's eternal love for us.

To claim the truth of ourselves we have to cling to our God in solitude as to the One who makes us who we are.

Headlines that Caught My Eye

In light of my ongoing fascination with Peru, I was astonished to wake up this morning and hear the news of a massive earthquake. You can read about it here and here.