Recently a friend and I went out to dinner and then we went shopping afterwards. We went to all of our favorites stores, Ross, TJMaxx, Homegoods, Marshall's. I think on this particular trip we both went home empty handed, which is often not the case. During the course of the evening we both confessed our tendency to buy ourselves a little something when we're feeling down. In my case, I rationalize it because it comes out of my "fun money" in our weekly budget. We both recognized and confessed that this is not a healthy way to cope with our emotional needs. Neither is a chocolate sundae topped with nuts, (not that I'd know anything about trying that), or even depending on a spouse or a friend to fill up our emptiness. All of those things are temporary fixes at best. The new blouse or trinket for the house will be in next year's Goodwill pile. Those hot fudge sundaes, that tasted good in the moment, don't seem so satisfying when you're sweating to take off the five pounds you mysteriously put on in the past few months. And that husband of yours or that best friend, well the truth is, they aren't always there when you need them, and when they are there, they don't always understand you. Truth is, we don't always understand ourselves, do we?
You see, there's a relentless emptiness and longing in all of us. (Join me for the rest of this post on Sunday, August 14th, at Woman to Woman Ministries where each Sunday I share a bit of Sunday Soul Food!)
Very wise words. I understand them with my head but my heart doesn't always follow.
ReplyDeleteAmen! Only the Lord can fill that emptiness within us. That was true at salvation, but it can also be true even after we know the Lord as you said. The challenge is to recognize those moments, confess them to the Lord and search His Word for the spiritual food we need to fill up those empty spots.
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