Eastertime - Longing

"... and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts."
~ 2 Peter 1:19

We cannot seem to keep ourselves from wanting.  Even as I woke up this morning, I found myself, "wanting,"  Coffee, a desire to have a "normal" Monday again, for the news to bring hope, and for there to be peace.

While hope and peace are things that many of us long for, the "wanting," is something that pulls us in a different direction.

I can remember years ago planning a party and then missing a deadline at work because I didn't have my priorities where they needed to be.  I disappointed my coworkers, and certainly, made me look unreliable.  Like so many things, our "longings," give an insight to others as to what and who we are about.

It's funny how through so many times where I have longed for something, that God was longing for me.  The real question is, "While I am searching, how do I allow for God to find me?"

And when God does find me, how do I stop longing for something more?

From the very first moment that God fashioned us from mud, blowing breath into us, we have wanted more.  Adam was "lonely," so God created Eve.  The two longed for more, and together ate from the tree of knowledge.  Over and over, the story plays out, and we want more.  It wasn't sufficient for Jesus just to be born and to walk among us.  No, he had to be crucified, buried, resurrected, and we still need more.

Even as I sit with patients who are dying, so many of them tell me, "I just long for one more day."

Our longing for God should guide all the other longings in our life.  If not, our bodies, minds, hearts and souls become one another's enemies and our inner lives become chaotic, leading us to both despair and self-destruction.

Staying focused on God does not necessarily eradicate our longings, but instead, places them in order so that what we do is done with God beside us.

Stay in God's grip!

G. Todd Williams (c) 2020