Good thing Quote by Brennan Manning
““Henri Nouwen wrote of the spiritual work of gratitude: To be grateful for the good things that happen in our lives is easy, but to be grateful for all of our lives—the good as well as the bad, the moments of joy as well as the moments of sorrow, the successes as well as the failures, the rewards as well as the rejections—that requires hard spiritual work. Still, we are only grateful people when we can say thank you to all that has brought us to the present moment. As long as we keep dividing our lives between events and people we would like to remember and those we would rather forget, we cannot claim the fullness of our beings as a gift of God to be grateful for. Let’s not be afraid to look at everything that has brought us to where we are now and trust that we will soon see in it the guiding hand of a loving God.2””
About This Quote
Source Book: The Inner Voice of Love by Henri Nouwen, 1992
Gratitude involves embracing both joy and suffering as gifts, requiring deep spiritual effort to see all experiences as part of divine guidance.
In simple terms: Being grateful for all life’s moments, good and bad, is hard work.
Key Takeaway
Accept all experiences as gifts.
Themes
gratitude
spirituality
acceptance
humility
Mood
contemplative
hopeful
Type
inspirational
philosophical
When to use this quote
- personal reflection
- counseling
- spiritual retreats
- daily journaling
Key Concepts
theology
mindfulness
resilience
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you reframe a recent failure as a lesson?
- What practices help you honor both joy and sorrow?
A Different Perspective
It can be difficult to view painful events as gifts, leading to resistance.
