I found a few golden nuggets in this book that I won't soon forget. On Page 190, the Roman Catholic contemplative Henri Nouwen spoke of gratitude as follows: "To be grateful for the good things that happen in our lives is easy, but to be grateful for all of our lives - the good as well as the bad, the moments of joy as well as the moments of sorrow, the successes as well as the failures, the rewards as well as the rejections - that requires hard spiritual work. Still, we are only truly grateful people when we can say thank you to all that has brought us to the present moment. As long as we keep dividing our lives between events and people we would like to remember and those we would rather forget, we cannot claim the fullness of our beings as a gift of God to be grateful for. Let's not be afraid to look at everything that has brought us to where we are now and trust that we will soon see in it the guiding hand of a loving God." Brother Millet goes on to say, "Too often in tough times we yield ourselves to stress and distress, to despondency and discouragement. Certainly life is complex, the demands on our time are intense, and the temptations of the devil are sophisticated - perhaps more so today than in times past - but there is also a mindset characteristic of our day that opens us to despair. That mindset characteristic of our day that opens us to despair. That mindset is one in which we assume, given the pleasures and luxuries of our day and age, that all should be well with us, that we should be perpetually happy Many of us have bought into the philosophy of our pop psychology world. The truth is, life can be tough. We are not guaranteed a stress-free existence, nor did the Lord promise us a mortal life void of challenge and difficulty. There is much in the world that is glorious and beautiful and uplifting and inspiring; many of the relationships we establish, for example, are elevating and enriching - they bring the deepest of joys into our lives. But we receive our joys alongside our sorrows. Both elements of the equation come with earth life. And we knew this before we came. Such experiences "are not just to test us," Elder Paul V. Johnson pointed out. "They are vitally important to the process of putting on the divine nature. If we handle these afflictions properly, they will be consecrated for our gain." Consequently, "we must be careful that we don't resent the very things that help us put on that divine nature."
I found a few golden nuggets in this book that I won't soon forget. On Page 190, the Roman Catholic contemplative Henri Nouwen spoke of gratitude as follows: "To be grateful for the good things that happen in our lives is easy, but to be grateful for all of our lives - the good as well as the bad, the moments of joy as well as the moments of sorrow, the successes as well as the failures, the rewards as well as the rejections - that requires hard spiritual work. Still, we are only truly grateful people when we can say thank you to all that has brought us to the present moment. As long as we keep dividing our lives between events and people we would like to remember and those we would rather forget, we cannot claim the fullness of our beings as a gift of God to be grateful for. Let's not be afraid to look at everything that has brought us to where we are now and trust that we will soon see in it the guiding hand of a loving God." Brother Millet goes on to say, "Too often in tough times we yield ourselves to stress and distress, to despondency and discouragement. Certainly life is complex, the demands on our time are intense, and the temptations of the devil are sophisticated - perhaps more so today than in times past - but there is also a mindset characteristic of our day that opens us to despair. That mindset characteristic of our day that opens us to despair. That mindset is one in which we assume, given the pleasures and luxuries of our day and age, that all should be well with us, that we should be perpetually happy Many of us have bought into the philosophy of our pop psychology world. The truth is, life can be tough. We are not guaranteed a stress-free existence, nor did the Lord promise us a mortal life void of challenge and difficulty. There is much in the world that is glorious and beautiful and uplifting and inspiring; many of the relationships we establish, for example, are elevating and enriching - they bring the deepest of joys into our lives. But we receive our joys alongside our sorrows. Both elements of the equation come with earth life. And we knew this before we came. Such experiences "are not just to test us," Elder Paul V. Johnson pointed out. "They are vitally important to the process of putting on the divine nature. If we handle these afflictions properly, they will be consecrated for our gain." Consequently, "we must be careful that we don't resent the very things that help us put on that divine nature."
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