agri.church

In a book called The Way of The Heart, Henri Nouwen writes:

Solitude is the furnace of transformation. Without solitude we remain victims of our society and continue to be entangled in the illusions of the false self.

Nouwen’s writings have had a profound influence on my spiritual life. Especially my thinking and practice of solitude, but I still have difficulty accepting this idea. I have read this little book over and over, and it’s still hard.

So much of who I am is a seems to be the result of interaction with others. My ideas rubbing against the ideas of others… Is solitude really the furnace of transformation? Cause I really want there to be another way. I really don’t want to have to be alone with my nothingness, so if I could just point to another way then…

The thing is though, for all the ideas, knowlege and even wisdom gained form chatting away with others, I can’t think of a single significant change in my life that didn’t come from time alone wrestling with God… what about you?

I’ve been thinking about those times and seasons when we are forced into being alone and the solitude is not welcome… let’s talk some about that tomorrow.