“The unfathomable mystery of God is that God is a Lover who wants to be loved. God not only says, “You are my beloved.” God also asks: “Do you love me?” That is the spiritual life: the chance to say “Yes” to our inner truth. And at every point of the journey there is the choice to say “Yes” and the choice to say “No.”
When joy and pain are both opportunities to say “Yes” to our divine childhood, then they are more alike than they are different. When feeling lonely and feeling at home both hold a call to discover more fully who the God is whose children we are, these feelings are more united than they are distinct. Living the spiritual life means living life as one unified reality. Wherever the Spirit works, divisions vanish and inner as well as outer unity manifests itself.”
–Henri Nouwen, Life of the Beloved
