Longing | the ramblings

Did you ever long for something that you felt would make you intensely happy and then get? It feels so fantastic at first but after a time the satisfaction fades. It doesn’t quite itch the spot you thought it would.

Ah, yes, but you must be talking only about worldly pleasures you say. No, I mean other things too. Even the very richest blessings of God which we experience here on the earth don’t fulfill us completely. Wonderful relationships, safety and security, dreams come true - wonderful as they are, they don’t of themselves satisfy the core of our being.

Well, they aren’t suppose to! There is only one thing that qualifies: God himself. “Thou dost open Thy hand, and dost satisfy the desire of every living thing.” (Psalm 145:16) The blessings of God and the natural satisfactions of life remind us of God and point us to God and make us grateful for such a good God. But when we have God himself, then we have everything.

It is worth it to work past all that we want and want only him. That’s tough because it is easier to deal with what we can see, hear, touch taste and smell. Yet when we consider that everything except him will ultimately yield disappointment, why settle?

Enjoy life to the fullest and gratefully receive God’s blessings every day as long as you live. Just don’t have any illusions. Listen to the prayer of St. Augustine: “Thou hast made us for Thyself and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in Thee.” [Hannah's Cupboard]

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Archive for the “longing” Category

Jan 22 2008

Quote of the Week

Posted by: stuartdelony in Blogroll, alive, george eliot, hunger, life, longing, quote, thoughts

[painting by Arne Sørlie]

It seems to me we can never give up longing and wishing while we are alive. There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good, and we must hunger for them.

- George Eliot

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Dec 06 2007

What is Community?

Posted by: stuartdelony in Blogroll, Christianity, Church, community, jessica maher, life, longing, people, quote, religion, spirituality

One of my friends is writing a paper for her seminary class on evangelism. The paper is about community and how we define it. So she asked me some questions and we talked about some random thoughts, then she posed this in her blog:

What does true authentic community look like? What is needed to have an authentic community? Vulnerability, trust, love, faith, hope? I truly believe that deep at the core of every person there is a burning desire for community, acceptance and love. If this is true how do we accomplish this? Is it part of the Church or not? What does it look like? Is there structure? Is it completely organic?

- Jessica Maher

So I want to ask for your thoughts or ideas - partially out of curiosity and partially to give her some perspective for this paper…

What is true community to you?

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Mar 31 2007