In “Life of the Beloved”, Nouwen moves through the movements of living as the beloved, attempting to articulate the purpose of the Christian life to a group of secular friends. In our four week study we discussed what it means to “bring our brokenness under the blessing”, and what it means to be given to each other in life. We also talked about what we needed to know, have answered, or unlearn about self or God before we could move into our lives as beloved of God.

When we remembered moments where we had felt beloved we remembered: mothers making us birthday cakes, sticking our fingers in the batter; grandmothers watching us dance with joy, without correction or judgement; fathers lifting us out of our bath to wrap us in towels and hold us close and safe. We remembered moments of belonging among strangers, moments of deep unswerving childhood-knowledge, a sense of being looked after, moments when we could face growth with courage. If you are looking for a good (and quick) read, try this book out and decide for yourself is Nouwen’s experiment of words is successful for you.