Lesson from a Rose

A lovely story from the beloved Henri Nouwen...

One day, a well-dressed workaholic was walking through a beautiful city park. He had important business on the other side. For some reason, his focused gaze forward was diverted by a solitary rose near the sidewalk. 

The man stopped, approached the rose, and asked, “For heaven’s sake, can’t you make yourself useful? Why don’t you get busy and DO something?” 

After a pause suggesting innocent confusion, the rose replied, “I’m sorry sir, but I’m just here to be beautiful.” 

This short story smashes one of my most adored idols: productivity. Specifically, productivity of the mind -- measured by what I read and manifested in what I write. At times, I cling to this productivity as if it’s the purpose of my existence and the source of my worth. 

But it’s not only an idol that I’ve worshipped for years; it’s also a hindrance to the work that God has given me this year in Jordan. Almost every day, my thoughts wander away from the here and now, wander towards the tasks, ambitions, and possibilities of the there and then. I think about a blog post I want to write, about how I might respond to an argument in a book I’m reading, about what I will study in seminary... Meanwhile, God is at work in the lives of the children around me, and I’m missing out. 

How to address the idol and the hindrance? A new philosophy: “I’m just here to be beautiful.”