Longing

It was the summer of 1971 and the signs of my first love were still in full bloom.  And then it happened.  He left for vacation with his family, travelling across the sea to England.  What would I do?  How was I going to even survive without him?  It was a longing that I had never experienced before.  I recently found the letters we wrote back and forth for what seemed like an eternity.  However, we wrote those letters more than 50 years ago.  I laughed to myself, not only because of the emotions written on paper, but the fact that we exchanged so many letters in that short period of time, professing what we knew as love at the time.  Then we come forward to the present day in our lives.  What is it that each one of us is longing for to make us feel fulfilled while living on this earth?  I’ve found as I’ve gotten older, those longings have changed with regards to physical things.  It’s more in appreciating time with my husband, a quiet dinner out sitting by the sea or our outing we recently took at 5 a.m. in the morning, watching the sun rising out of the ocean and the canvas of colors painted across the sky just for us.  It’s the longing I feel, sitting quietly by myself and feeling God’s presence.  I try and listen to what He longs for me, so that I may accomplish and do His will.  I think we all ask ourselves, “What if I don’t hear Him properly”, or in our busy lives, we miss those words and the direction He is pointing us towards.  Is there a longing in your heart now that something is missing and maybe you feel you’ve “missed the boat?”  During Holy Week, leading up to Easter and Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice for you and me, let’s turn our focus on longing for Him.  He is calling YOU!   He longs for us to read His Words, to listen to His voice, clearing our minds from all the worldly concerns.  Although our paths are different along the way, if we follow Jesus we will arrive at the same destination.  As much as I longed for my first boyfriend to come home quickly, I have a longing for so much more now.  Thank you God for all the longings you place on my heart.  Help me to stop and rest in your holiness, especially this week.  I pray that you feel Jesus’ love more with every passing hour, always acknowledging His presence within you.  Amen

“My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.”