Within all of us, way deep down, is an emptiness that quietly nags at us. And the only thing that can fill this emptiness is God. I think most of us are aware of this emptiness to some degree. We come face to face with it in the silence.
St. Augustine talked about this in terms of our restless hearts, famously saying “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
In one of Mother Teresa’s letters, she writes, “There is so much deep contradiction in my soul. Such deep longing for God - so deep that it is painful - a suffering continual”
All of us endlessly long to be filled. We long to be filled to the brim in a way that satiates us forever. For too many, this emptiness is covered up with a whole host of things - addictions, creature comforts, social media, hobbies and interests that become mildly obsessive.
If you look at our world, where do people focus their energy? We focus on avoiding all things that feel negative, which would certainly include nagging emptiness. We can’t blame anyone. No one really talks about this emptiness. We might read about it in the lives of the saints or in some heavy-handed spiritual reading, but it’s certainly not part of a conversation that is out there happening in regular day-to-day life. We simply don’t talk about it. In our shallow attempt to live lives that are positive and happy – we avoid the truth about what our lives are really all about. And in doing so, we cut ourselves off from perhaps the most beautiful reality that exists in being human; our deep and desperate desire to be filled with God.
It is this emptiness and this desire that is perhaps the most beautiful collective gift we all share because we can feel it and see it in our very existence while being alongside each other. All we have to do is slow down, ask ourselves what we’re really doing with our lives, and we will get to a place where we realize we’re busy doing a whole bunch of stuff that doesn’t really matter. And then, in that lonely place, we ask ourselves, "What really matters?" That’s when the good stuff enters. That’s when going to church or to our knees or smiling at strangers or writing a quick thank you letter makes all the sense in the world.
Let’s not pretend we’re okay living a shallow life rooted in surface level feeling and action. Let’s go to the places that really matter. Let’s own the fact that we desperately want to be filled. Let’s be bold enough to grant God the pleasure of hearing us say, “God, I love you and want all of you. Please wash me and fill me.” Let’s give ourselves away constantly and watch what happens.
St. Augustine talked about this in terms of our restless hearts, famously saying “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
In one of Mother Teresa’s letters, she writes, “There is so much deep contradiction in my soul. Such deep longing for God - so deep that it is painful - a suffering continual”
All of us endlessly long to be filled. We long to be filled to the brim in a way that satiates us forever. For too many, this emptiness is covered up with a whole host of things - addictions, creature comforts, social media, hobbies and interests that become mildly obsessive.
If you look at our world, where do people focus their energy? We focus on avoiding all things that feel negative, which would certainly include nagging emptiness. We can’t blame anyone. No one really talks about this emptiness. We might read about it in the lives of the saints or in some heavy-handed spiritual reading, but it’s certainly not part of a conversation that is out there happening in regular day-to-day life. We simply don’t talk about it. In our shallow attempt to live lives that are positive and happy – we avoid the truth about what our lives are really all about. And in doing so, we cut ourselves off from perhaps the most beautiful reality that exists in being human; our deep and desperate desire to be filled with God.
It is this emptiness and this desire that is perhaps the most beautiful collective gift we all share because we can feel it and see it in our very existence while being alongside each other. All we have to do is slow down, ask ourselves what we’re really doing with our lives, and we will get to a place where we realize we’re busy doing a whole bunch of stuff that doesn’t really matter. And then, in that lonely place, we ask ourselves, "What really matters?" That’s when the good stuff enters. That’s when going to church or to our knees or smiling at strangers or writing a quick thank you letter makes all the sense in the world.
Let’s not pretend we’re okay living a shallow life rooted in surface level feeling and action. Let’s go to the places that really matter. Let’s own the fact that we desperately want to be filled. Let’s be bold enough to grant God the pleasure of hearing us say, “God, I love you and want all of you. Please wash me and fill me.” Let’s give ourselves away constantly and watch what happens.