Longing…

Longing.

We all have longings. At times we experience things we don’t long for.

We don’t long to hurt or be hurt.
We don’t long to fear or cause fear.
We don’t long to shame or be shamed.
We don’t long to lose or be lost.

What do we long for?

We long for connection, relationship, belonging.
We long to know and be known.
We long to notice and be noticed.
We long to live and give life.
We long to care and be cared for.
We long to love and be loved.
We long to forgive and be forgiven.

What I’ve learned is you can’t have longing without those things that are difficult. One does not happen without the other. This is not how God originally intended for our lives to be, but the fall of Adam and Eve put us in this predicament.

We tend to see these difficult things as bad in our lives. If we hold on to the “bad”, they only magnify. We must accept the bad and cherish the good… in ourselves and others. We must live in a balance of grace and truth. God attends to us with His grace and truth. We are forgiven. He will use the tough stuff in our lives to strengthen and refine us. This refiners fire will be lapping at our heels until we take our last breath. And on that day, we will be made whole.