Sometimes shifts happen that demand we ask, “What the hell am I doing?” And then, we unexpectedly pound out frustrations lodged so deep that in the aftermath Grand Canyon-size chasms are left behind with people scattered on both sides. These chasms are scary big, where looking over the edge can make your head spin, your heart race, your stomach churn. Although Henri Nouwen compares the wound of loneliness to the Grand Canyon, his comparison is also fitting for the very definition of chasm: “…a deep incision in the surface of our existence which has become an inexhaustible source of beauty and self-understanding.” (28)

These kinds of divides demand respect, providing opportunities for honest, yet gentle reflection and introspection. Gentle because we are not stupid, weak, or less than. Gentle because these chasms are capable, as scary as they are, of transforming grounded plans into more grounded people. But we must trust and believe in the process, as well as the person in the process. We must believe that “I am worthy and capable of being all of me.”

Excerpt from Momentous Living.