Empty Me

How many times do we go through our days running from task to task or even from just thought to thought?

Too many.

Where is the emptiness? Where are the moments of just being? Where are the moments for God?

Today I drove the entire way to school (40+ minutes) in an empty space - no radio, no phone - just me and God the whole car ride. And it was probably one of the best car rides I have ever had. I didn't even have to do the thinking. I let God guide my thoughts and prayers.

Wouldn't you know, when I arrived at school this morning, what did I find in my email inbox?

Well, why don't you read for yourself...

from the daily Henri Nouwen emails:

Letting Go of Our Fear of God

 

We are afraid of emptiness. Spinoza speaks about our "horror vacui," our horrendous fear of vacancy. We like to occupy-fill up-every empty time and space. We want to be occupied. And if we are not occupied we easily become preoccupied; that is, we fill the empty spaces before we have even reached them. We fill them with our worries, saying, "But what if ..."

It is very hard to allow emptiness to exist in our lives. Emptiness requires a willingness not to be in control, a willingness to let something new and unexpected happen. It requires trust, surrender, and openness to guidance. God wants to dwell in our emptiness. But as long as we are afraid of God and God's actions in our lives, it is unlikely that we will offer our emptiness to God. Let's pray that we can let go of our fear of God and embrace God as the source of all love.

God wants us to experience emptiness - not in the sense that He wants us to be empty/out of energy. He wants us to experience emptiness so He has a place to dwell - in our minds, our hearts, our lives.

It is in emptying ourselves, then, that we are filled.