“When we allow ourselves to feel fully how we are being acted upon, we can come in touch with a new life that we were not even aware was there.” - Henri Nouwen
In his essay, Nouwen a priest, chaplain and writer takes up an extremely relatable situation. He recounts the story of a friend who had been active in social causes and then was struck with cancer in his 50s. The man was struggling with his worth to God with is sudden inactivity. Nouwen goes on to differentiate between action and passion. Passion comes after action, he says, it is the waiting for the response to the action. Our passion is revealed in how we wait for what happens next. Waiting is not doing nothing, it is that process of what we are becoming.
“those that wait on the Lord, they will renew their strength.”