I have known great longing in life.  I have longed for loyalty, love, and a life of peace.  I have searched in vain for true happiness, only to know disappointment and despair.   When I married, I was sure that my thirst would be quenched—I would finally find fulfilment.  Instead, I felt as if I were standing near the edge of a stream flowing with pure, refreshing water that I was unable to reach.  Instead of finding relief, my desire intensified.

We are broken in so many ways.  We have lost sight of hope.  We do not trust.  We do not love.  We are full of fear.  Searching for contentment, we cling to others or push them away; and still we suffer from scarcity.  We are on the brink of emotional starvation.  How do we extinguish our thirst?

Before we can realize love, loyalty, and a life of peace we have to learn to love self.  We need to recognize our value, and we will never find it through the eyes of another person. Our true worth can only be found through the eyes of our Creator. Believe it or not, everyone was created for a purpose.  God has a plan for each and every person.  In fact, part of that plan involved the greatest sacrifice imaginable—death on a cross in order to grant reconciliation and renewal.  You are precious!  You are worthwhile!  And you are loved!  Once we gain this knowledge, we can truly know intimacy in relationships as God designed.  Intimacy satisfies longing. It brings peace to our troubled souls

What is holding you back?  Where have you been searching in an attempt to find your value?  Where is your hope?  Go to the stream of living water and let your thirst be quenched by the sustaining love of Christ.

“Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” Psalm 43:5