My journey...

We want to achieve much, but sometimes produce little. This may be particularly the case when we set out to be more patient, loving, caring and gentle with others. We may well find that the more we try, the less successful we seem to be. Now clearly there is nothing wrong with that desire to be more constructive and helpful in our relationships with others. But there may well be something wrong with the way we go about this tasks.

One of the least helpful ways is to try to prove something to ourselves. Our attempts to be more loving thus become more the spiritual barameter by which we check our rating with God. When we do this, our desire to love others become confused with our own needs and our own agenda.

The solution is never to attempt to love others more so that we can feel better about ourselves. This is doing things back to front. The way forward is to know we are loved by God and appreciated by others and, from this center of security, seek to be more caring and compassionate.

Nouwen notes that 'a forgiven person forgives'. Equally so, a loved person loves. And a nurtured person cares. The challenge is never simply to try to be more loving, but to seek a deeper inner resource from which our love can flow.

I felt that this reflection is very good cause it is so true. When someone does not talk to me or "snobs" me, I will try that much harder to try to find out why and make obvious very obvious attempt to show I care. This often drives them further away. Perhaps my motive was so I felt better cause I hated if someone is offended by me. But this reflection cause me to think about where that love should come from and what is the motive of my heart. We need to seek that seurity in God and that our lives are in right standing with God. I like the ending of the reflection which says, "a loved person loves". Know that you are loved by God and love for people comes naturally despite how the other party treats you. Its all to do with like the title suggests, inner resources that is found in God.