--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Moving from teaching university students…" description: "\"“Moving from teaching university students to living with mentally handicapped people was, for me at least, a step toward the platform where the father ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/henri-j-m-nouwen-4122_abandonment_moving-from-teaching-university-students_777073.jpg" --- # Moving from teaching university students to living with… ![“Moving from teaching university students to living with mentally handicapped people was, for me at least, a step toward the platform where the father embraces his kneeling son. Step from bystander to participant, from judge to repentant sinner, from teacher about love to being loved as the…” quote by Henri J.M. Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/henri-j-m-nouwen-4122_abandonment_moving-from-teaching-university-students_777073.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/henri-j-m-nouwen-4122_abandonment_moving-from-teaching-university-students_777073.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/henri-j-m-nouwen-4122_abandonment_moving-from-teaching-university-students_777073.jpg) > ““Moving from teaching university students to living with mentally handicapped people was, for me at least, a step toward the platform where the father embraces his kneeling son. Step from bystander to participant, from judge to repentant sinner, from teacher about love to being loved as the beloved. It is also the place where I have to let go of all I most want to hold on to. It is the place that confronts me with the fact that truly accepting love, forgiveness, and healing is often much harder than giving it. It is the place beyond earning, deserving, and rewarding. It is the place of surrender and complete trust. Each little step toward the center seemed like an impossible demand, a demand requiring me to let go one more time from wanting to be in control, to give up one more time the desire to predict life, to die one more time to the fear of not knowing where it all will lead, and to surrender one more time to a love that knows no limits. And still, I knew that I would never be able to live the great commandment to love without allowing myself to be loved without conditions or prerequisites.”” [Henri J.M. Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-j-m-nouwen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage describes moving from academic teaching to intimate caregiving, highlighting a shift from distance to deep, unconditional love, trust, and surrender, which is harder than giving love. **In simple terms:** From teacher to loved one, we must surrender control and trust love. Key Takeaway Embrace vulnerability and trust love without conditions. Themes love trust surrender vulnerability caregiving Mood reflective hopeful introspective Type spiritual philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - working with disabled adults - personal spiritual practice - therapy or counseling - family caregiving Key Concepts spirituality relationship dynamics self‑sacrifice Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance self‑care with unconditional love? - What fears arise when you let go of control? A Different Perspective The ideal of unconditional love may be unrealistic in some relationships, leading to burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abandonment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandonment/) [Accepting love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting-love/) [Commandment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commandment/) [Forgiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiveness/) [Healing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/healing/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Mentally Handicapped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mentally-handicapped/) [Parables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parables/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Prodigal son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prodigal-son/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Surrender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrender/) [Theology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theology/) ## Related quotes > [“I let go of control and fear and something else swept in to take their place. 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I got suspended a lot for beating up kids in our schools that were bullying other, sometimes mentally handicapped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-garbrandt/i-beat-the-bullies-up-i-got-suspended-a-lot-for-beating-up-kids-in/) [Cody Garbrandt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-garbrandt/) > [...you have no idea how mentally handicapped I could be if push comes to shove.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-have-no-idea-how-mentally-handicapped-i-could-be-if-push-comes-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of my sisters is physically and mentally handicapped. She took a lot of my parents' attention, so I grew up in my own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-kingston/one-of-my-sisters-is-physically-and-mentally-handicapped-she-took-a/) [Alex Kingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-kingston/) > [You don't argue with a four-year old about why he shouldn't eat candy for dinner. 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Nouwen > [“Spiritual reading, therefore, is slow, deliberate, meditative reading in which we allow the words to penetrate our heart and question our spirit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-j-m-nouwen/spiritual-reading-therefore-is-slow-deliberate-meditative-reading-in/) [Henri J.M. Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-j-m-nouwen/) > [“The mystery of ministry is that we have been chosen to make our own limited and very conditional love the gateway for the unlimited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-j-m-nouwen/the-mystery-of-ministry-is-that-we-have-been-chosen-to-make-our-own/) [Henri J.M. Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-j-m-nouwen/) > [“Jesus changes our history from a random series of sad incidents and accidents into a constant opportunity for a change of heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-j-m-nouwen/jesus-changes-our-history-from-a-random-series-of-sad-incidents-and/) [Henri J.M. 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Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-j-m-nouwen/) > [“Am I afraid to die? I am every time I let myself be seduced by the noisy voices of my world telling me that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-j-m-nouwen/am-i-afraid-to-die-i-am-every-time-i-let-myself-be-seduced-by-the/) [Henri J.M. Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-j-m-nouwen/) > [“Our life is a short time in expectation, a time in which sadness and joy kiss each other at every moment. There is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-j-m-nouwen/our-life-is-a-short-time-in-expectation-a-time-in-which-sadness-and/) [Henri J.M. Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-j-m-nouwen/) > [“Here the mystery of drinking the cup becomes clear. The coming and leaving of friends, the experiences of love and betrayal, of care and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-j-m-nouwen/here-the-mystery-of-drinking-the-cup-becomes-clear-the-coming-and/) [Henri J.M. Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-j-m-nouwen/) > [“Thus, our brokenness can become a gateway to new life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-j-m-nouwen/thus-our-brokenness-can-become-a-gateway-to-new-life/) [Henri J.M. Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-j-m-nouwen/) [Explore all 115 Henri J.M. Nouwen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-j-m-nouwen/) ## More Abandonment quotes > [If our faith in God is not the veriest sham, it demands, and will produce, the abandonment sometimes, the subordination always, of external helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/if-our-faith-in-god-is-not-the-veriest-sham-it-demands-and-will/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) > [I don't believe in fate or destiny. I believe in various degrees of hatred, paranoia, and abandonment. However much of that gets heaped upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/i-don-t-believe-in-fate-or-destiny-i-believe-in-various-degrees-of/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [In the eyes of those lovers of perfection, a work is never finished a word that for them has no sense but abandoned; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/in-the-eyes-of-those-lovers-of-perfection-a-work-is-never-finished-a/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [“Sometimes people walk away from love because it is so beautiful that it terrifies them. Sometimes they leave because the connection shines a bright…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-brown/sometimes-people-walk-away-from-love-because-it-is-so-beautiful-that/) [Jeff Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-brown/) > [Modern societies accepted the treasures and the power offered them by science. 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The balcony ache with longings.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iqra-iqbal/lonely-balcony-the-deterioration-brought-by-weariness-was-visible-its/) [iqra iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iqra-iqbal/) > [God causes us to promise in time of peace what He exacts from us in time of war; He enables us to make our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/god-causes-us-to-promise-in-time-of-peace-what-he-exacts-from-us-in/) [Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/) [Browse all 348 Abandonment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandonment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Moving from teaching university students to living with mentally handicapped people was, for me at least, a step toward the platform where the father embraces his kneeling son. 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