Page 8 - Good News February 2005 paper

utch author Henri Nouwen wrote an this desert." But the river soon
article titled 'Moving from Solitude to had drained into the sand until
DCommunity, to Ministry', in which he it was only a small mud pool.
included this story: Then the river heard a voice
The little river said, "I can become a big river." It from above: "Just surrender.
worked hard, but there was a big rock. The river Let me lift you up. Let me take
said, "I'm going to get around this rock." The over." The river said, "Here I
little river pushed and pushed, and since it had am." The sun then lifted up the
a lot of strength, it got itself around the rock. river and made the river into a
Soon the river faced a big wall, and the river huge cloud. He carried the river
kept pushing this wall. Eventually, the river right over the desert and let the
made a canyon and carved a way through. The cloud rain down and make the
growing river said, "I can do it. I can push it. I am fields far away fruitful and rich.
not going to let down for anything." Then there There is a moment in our life
was an enormous forest. The river said, "I'll go when we stand before the
ahead anyway and just force these trees down." desert and want to do it
And the river did. ourselves, says Nouwen. But
The river, now powerful, stood on the edge of an there is the Voice that comes,
enormous desert with the sun beating down. "Let go. Surrender. I will make
The river said, "I'm going to go through this you fruitful. Yes, trust Me. Give
desert." But the hot sand soon began to soak up yourself to Me."
the whole river. The river said, "Oh, no. I'm What counts in your life and
going to do it. I'm going to get myself through mine is not successes, but
fruits. The fruits of your life you
might not see yourself.
The fruits of your life are born
often in your pain and in your
vulnerability and in your
losses. The fruits of your life
come only after the plow has
carved through your land.
God wants you to be fruitful.
The question is not, "How
much can I still do in the years
that are left to me?"
The question is, "How can I
prepare myself for total
surrender so that my life can be
fruitful?"
[Joel News]