This summer as I was preparing for retreat, I found myself unsettled with what I would read. Usually, God places something clear on my heart and there is a book just for that! Not this year. Two days before I retreat, I did some random searches on Amazon and found a book that had six chapters—I like those because it allows one chapter a day to be savored. I downloaded it to my phone since it would not arrive in time if I ordered a physical copy. I did not have great hope, but it was something. Then I read the first pages…
“Often, we are more wanderers than followers. We are people who run around a lot, do many things, meet many people, attend many events, read many books. We are so busy and so involved. Yet if we are asked what we are so busy with, we don’t really know. People who wander from one thing to the other, feeling that they are lived more than they live, are very tired. Deeply tired…It is into this deeply tired world of ours that God sends Jesus to speak the voice of love. Jesus says, ‘Follow me. Don’t keep running around. Follow me.’”
This hit hard and I knew this book was exactly what I needed after a year when I felt I was never caught up. The anxiety was real, and if I had given myself time to think about it, I would have added to how overwhelmed I felt. Henri Nouwen takes you through six beautiful chapters rooted in different Gospel stories to help us respond to Jesus’ call to ‘follow me.’ Trust me, there is much depth awaiting those who are willing to read and ponder anew!
I leave you with one of my favorite invitations. Nouwen challenges us to dwell with Jesus. Could we for 30 minutes, simply sit there, do nothing and waste time with Jesus? I started this on retreat and have done it daily. Just sitting with the One we love with no plan—what could be better?!
Henri Nouwen. Following Jesus: Finding Our Way Home in an Age of Anxiety. Penguin Random House, LLC, 2024
Book Review submitted by: Sister Amanda Marie Russell