“Well it’s got to be strong to touch my heart
Through its shell
And I’ll wait for it to come
I’ll wait for it to come down”
We have real difficulty here because everyone thinks of changing the world, but where, oh where, are those who think of changing themselves? -People may genuinely want to be good, but seldom are they prepared to do what it takes to produce the inward life of goodness that can form the soul. Personal formation into the likeness of Christ is arduous and lifelong.
American Quaker and spiritual writer Richard Foster
(via modernmanshustle1)
Over the years, I have met people who have made a very human claim on me by making known their need to be loved. For a long time, my response was instant and reflexive, born of the “oughts” I had absorbed: “Of course you need to be loved. Everyone does. And I love you.”
It took me a long time to understand that although everyone needs to be loved, I cannot be the source of that gift to everyone who asks me for it. There are some relations in which I am capable of love and others in which I am not. To pretend otherwise, to put out promissory notes I am unable to honor, is to damage my own integrity and that of the person in need— all in the name of love.
It took me a long time to understand that although everyone needs to be loved, I cannot be the source of that gift to everyone who asks me for it. There are some relations in which I am capable of love and others in which I am not. To pretend otherwise, to put out promissory notes I am unable to honor, is to damage my own integrity and that of the person in need— all in the name of love.
Parker Palmer - “Let Your Life Speak”
(via jivetofu)
