Longing

Have you ever felt like you were a puzzle with a few important pieces missing? People often enter relationships in order to find and fill the places that feel empty in their lives. Perhaps there is a sense of relational longing that works this way.

But some of the emptiness we feel will never be filled by another person. There are two kinds of emptiness that we need to face solo. The first is the emptiness we create when we are ashamed of who we are. Our embarrassment over parts of who we are and what we've done causes us to hide or bury pieces of ourselves. This emptiness can only be filled when we recognize and welcome our shadow selves into the whole of who we are.

There's another kind of emptiness that comes from our hunger for the holy. Blaise Pascal envisioned a hole within each person that can only be filled by God. This has been described as a God-shaped hole within each of us.

In the physical realm we know as life, this hole is never completely filled. Its existence creates the ache for holy communion that nudges us ever-toward God. This longing is what keeps us moving toward our life's intended purpose. It keeps us growing toward love.

When we approach the deeper places on our spiritual path, we learn to embrace this desire as a welcome companion. It is a hunger of hope whose purpose has never been satisfaction or arrival, but rather yearning and journey.

© 2015 Todd Jenkins