Our Disciplines Lead Us Home
Going home is a lifelong journey. There are always parts of ourselves that wander off in dissipation or get stuck in resentment. Before we know it, we are lost in lustful fantasies or angry ruminations. Our night dreams and daydreams often remind us of our lostness.
Spiritual disciplines such as praying, fasting, and caring are ways to help us return home. As we walk home, we often realize how long the way is. But let us not be discouraged.
Jesus walks with us and speaks to us on the road. When we listen carefully, we discover that we are already home while on the way.
—Henry Nouwen,
A Lifelong Journey
We are not left on this journey alone. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would abide in us, lead us, and remind us of all things He taught, along life’s way. As Nouwen points out, it is often the case as we travel life’s way that we wander off and lose sight of what matters most. It is our spiritual disciplines, our prayer life, our fasting, and our devotion that bring us back to center, back to a truer sense of self before God, bringing us ‘home’ into the fullness of our faith. Where are you on the journey today? Do not be discouraged, but rather long for Jesus in the ways he taught us: pray, fast, and devote your heart to being found with and in Christ. —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics