Celebrating the present

  January is birthday time for some members of our extended family - a space in which we reflect on and celebrate the milestones of our lives. Tonight my grandson and I read stories, played crokinole and soccer, and created imaginary structures from Lego. He and his sister, mom & dad joined Lois and I in a celebratory supper of West African groundnut stew culminating with a heavenly hot fudge pudding topped with vanilla bean ice cream... What more could one want!

As I was reflecting on the day these words from Henri Nouwen echoed the reality of our existence. I share them with you as a hopeful perspective for the year ahead.

Often we want to be able to see into the future. We say, “How will next year be for me? Where will I be five or ten years from now?” There are no answers to these questions. Mostly we have just enough light to see the next step: what we have to do in the coming hour or the following day. The art of living is to enjoy what we can see and not complain about what remains in the dark. When we are able to take the next step with the trust that we will have enough light for the step that follows, we can walk through life with joy and be surprised at how far we go. Let’s rejoice in the little light we carry and not ask for the great beam that would take all shadows away.


Nouwen, Henri J. M. (2009-03-17). Bread for the Journey: A Daybook of Wisdom and Faith (p. 9). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.