Nouwen on Writing

Things have been a little hectic, but now that the 7th grade Leadership retreat is done and tonight is the last official youth group session until the Fall, things should be winding down for the summer (whatever the heck that means for youth ministry!). So anyway, posts have been a little sparse. But today I simply want to share a quote from Henri Nouwen. I receive a daily e-mail with one of his quotes, and this was from yesterday:

Writing can be a true spiritual discipline. Writing can help us to concentrate, to get in touch with the deeper stirrings of our hearts, to clarify our minds, to process confusing emotions, to reflect on our experiences, to give artistic expression to what we are living, and to store significant events in our memories. Writing can also be good for others who might read what we write.

Quite often a difficult, painful, or frustrating day can be "redeemed" by writing about it. By writing we can claim what we have lived and thus integrate it more fully into our journeys. Then writing can become lifesaving for us and sometimes for others too.