I Hope

I hope that I will always be for each person
what he or she needs me to be.
I hope that each person's death will diminish me,
but that fear of my own will never diminish my joy of life.
I hope that my love for those whom I like will never lessen
my love for those whom I do not.
I hope that another person's love for me will never
be a measure of my love for him or her.
I hope that everybody will accept me as I am,
but that I never will.
I hope that I will always ask for forgiveness from others,
but will never need to be asked for my own . . .
I hope that I will always recognize my limitations,
but that I will construct none.
I hope that loving will always be my goal,
but that love will never be my idol.
I hope that everyone will always have hope. 

-Henri Nouwen
picture via pinterest || poem via here





 I thought this was a sweet poem, though if I would have written it, I would've switched some things out. (ahem) =) like instead of all the "I hopes" I would replace with ''I will by God's grace" But, that's my take on it. Anyways, yeah - I want to be a Christian that people can tell by my actions, not by words.
~Autumn