Moving from fatalism to hope in another time

I’ve not been doing a very good job of posting from Henri Nouwen’s book ‘Turn My Mourning Into Dancing.’ Mostly because I'm not spending much time on the computer, but also because I've been riveted by my current read (Brian Zahnd’s “Farewell To Mars").

So, in an effort to glean (and share) from the aforementioned, I will at least post some of the sections I highlighted…

The title of chapter 3 is “From Fatalism to Hope.” Fatalism is defined by Webster’s dictionary as “acceptance of every event as inevitable.” You know, “that’s just the way things are,” or “that’s how it’s always been and always going to be” sort of thing.

Henri says,

“One of the most insidious aspects of fatalism has to do with how it leads us to resist healing. We become hostage to a discouragement that insists that nothing more can be done… We become stubbornly unwilling to consider anything outside our narrow experience. Fatalism can lead to depression, despair, even suicide.”

On the other hand…

“Faith is the deep confidence that God is good and that God’s goodness somehow triumphs. Faith is that intimate, personal trust by which you say, ‘I commend myself into your strong, loving hands.’”

Henri then differentiates between ‘clock time’ and ‘kairos time’…

“Time has to be converted, then, from chronos, mere chronological time, to kairos, a New Testament Greek word that has to do with opportunity, with moments that seem ripe for their intended purpose. Then, even while life continues to seem harried, while it continues to have hard moments, we say, ‘Something good is happening amid all this.’ We get glimpses of how God might be working out his purposes in our days. Time becomes not just something to get through or manipulate or manage, but the arena of God’s work with us. Whatever happens – good things or bad, pleasant or problematic – we look and ask, ‘What might God be doing here?’ We see the events of the day as continuing occasions to change the heart.”

“…a view of time as kairos helps us to be patient in believing. If we are patient in this sense we can look at all events of each day – expected or unexpected – as holding a promise for us. Patience becomes in us the attitude that says that we cannot force life but have to let it grow by its own time and development. Patience lets us see the people we meet, the events of the day, and the unfolding history of our times all part of that slow process of growth.”

I like this sentence fragment towards the end of the chapter...

“…the gospel awaits fresh discovery in the open places we leave in our hearts.”

Here's to open spaces filling with hope, instead of fatalism.