Hello friends! An over-indulgence in chocolate chips, anger, a slipping relationship with God, unexpected crabbiness with my brother, a lack of interest in the things of God. A sudden and unquenchable desire to be noticed--known. What do all of these things have in common?
Loneliness.
I hate loneliness.
Yet, what I hate more is when I tromp around completing life’s chores and I feel my heart crying out for the Lord and yet I stuff it full of other stuff. I hate it when I choose the wrong music—oh it’s not bad music (especially compared to the world) but I know it is not good. I hate it when I waste my time in front of a movie instead of filling my hungry soul with the word of God. Can any of you relate? When our souls cry for our Holy Father and yet our flesh wages war with the tools of discouragement and apathy; when no amount of pleasure can make one happy this is when God is calling us to Him. Oh, I know how painful it can be to come to the cross—how the flesh hates to die! But when we allow Christ to have His way—to point His righteous finger into the dark corners of our heart—then true contentment and joy follows. And then the aching pain of loneliness . . . well, it just seems to drift away as I allow Christ to become my All in All, my I AM. And if it doesn’t, if loneliness hangs around, I’m able to grow through it. To rejoice in it.
A thought came to me as I was driving home tonight: “If God already knows the ugliness inside me then why do I pretend it isn’t there? Wouldn’t it just be better to humble myself and admit that ‘I haven’t arrived’ then pretend in front of those who know I haven’t? How deceitful my silly heart is; and how good God is to resist the proud but give grace to the humble. How good He is to make all my attempts of happiness vain unless the attempts are for Him. And then, even if I were lonely, I know my heart would be happily resting in the will of God.
In the process of growing,
Frannie
Oh, my dear dear friend! I can relate, sympathize, and understand! How true your words are. We love to set up a front in-front of other people pretending.. But why?... human beings are such funny things..
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your heart, Frannie!
Love and Hugs!
Sonja
Thank you for sharing, Frannie.
ReplyDeleteMay the Lord bless you and grant you the desire of your heart.
Love in Christ
It occurs to me, dear Frannie, that Christ knows exactly how you feel when you experience loneliness or isolation. I believe He experienced these very same feelings when He walked on this earth.
ReplyDeleteI have experienced these same feelings, and when I do I try to remind myself that these experiences draw me closer to my Beloved through experiencing to a certain degree what He experienced while He walked among us.
Miss Linda
Threads of Loveliness blog
Dear friend Sonja,
ReplyDeleteAh! I love and appreciate your heart! Humans are such funny things! :)
Dear Rachel,
:) And may He grant your's too--isn't it a neat thing when our hearts begin to yearn after His?
Dear Miss Linda,
You are right; so often I feel that I am alone when my Maker, Heavenly King and Brother felt all sorts of feelings ten times greater than I! I am so thankful for your comments; they add a new dimension to my thinking.
With love from your sister in Christ,
Frannie