Devotions from Henri Nouwen’s book, The Inner Voice of Love

Today’s devotion is on loving deeply. We might be afraid of the pain that love can cause us. When we do love deeply those we love may reject us, leave us, die etc. But just because our heart may be broken doesn’t mean we should hold back. The pain that comes from deep love makes our love ever more fruitful. It is like a plow that breaks the ground to allow the seed to take root and grow into a strong plant. Every time we may experience the pain of rejection, we have a choice. We can become bitter and decide not to love again or we can stand in our pain and let the soil on which we stand become richer and more able to give life to new seeds.  The more we love and allow ourselves to suffer because of love, the more our hearts grow wider and deeper. Even if others leave us, when our hearts are truly giving and receiving, they will not leave our hearts…they will be part of ourselves and our inner community.  The wider our inner community becomes, the more easily we will recognize our brothers and sisters in strangers around us. Thus, the pain of rejection can become fruitful.  Yes, as we love deeply the ground of our hearts will be broken and more and more, but we can rejoice in the abundance of the fruit it will bear.