On Waiting.

Think of something you're waiting for right now.I am sure you can think of at least one thing, if not many.And whether it be something big (like graduating from high school) or small (a fun concert coming up this weekend), we're all waiting. We're waiting for it.Maybe you're waiting to finally be skinny, and then you'll finally feel good enough. Maybe you're waiting to finally find that group of friends that is there to stay. Maybe you're waiting for someone to fall in love with, or better yet, someone to fall in love with you. Maybe you're waiting until you can make it through enough school to land your dream job. Maybe you're waiting to have enough money to not have to second-guess getting guac at Chipotle, to be popular and pretty, to finally feel like you and God are OK.Everyone is waiting on or chasing after something. It's sometimes an aching and hopeless feeling, but if you think about it, it's what keeps us going. The dream of landing that job is what keeps us in school and receiving a good education. The dream of traveling to that place you've always wanted to go to is what keeps you putting pennies in that jar year after year. The hope of becoming more like Christ is what keeps you on your knees and chasing after Him constantly.Sometimes we don't even know what we're waiting on, we just know we're waiting on something more. Sound familiar?I think it's because there is something more.There is much, much more. And while we are in this world (in it, but not of it), we seem to be waiting to finally feel satisfied with what we have accomplished or received on this earth.Colony House is one of my favorite bands of all time, and they have this song called "This Beautiful Life," and I want you to take a minute to go listen to it (youtube, spotify, whatever) if you haven't already and then come back here.Listened? Got goosebumps? Yeah, me too. I think this song is one of those that is both a sad and grieving melody, yet at the same time has a hopeful and passionate feeling.

What in the world are we doing here?What is the meaning of it all?To fall in love, to make a life that's calm and stableOr just to find a place where I belong?What in the world am I looking for?What is the peace that I can find?This longing for, I can't ignore but am I ableTo see the good and taste it on my tongue?

Does this hit home for you? For me it does because I think subconsciously I am always wondering what the point is. What is the reason I am going through this life and facing the challenges the way I am. What is the end goal? What is the point?

We all know there must be more to this wonderful, terrible, beautiful life.And we come to this conclusion:

And I can't be satisfiedThis world has long been dryWhat does it cost to find a homeFor what's been lost?Well maybe I'm a part of something that's bigger than meLike I'm a page in a book in a libraryAnd inside my heart there's a dying part that's always searching'Cause I know that there's a place where I belong.

There is a C.S. Lewis quote, and one that I keep coming back to, that says this:"If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we are made for another world."

The conclusion that I have to come to is this: while we are busy saving up for that trip to Italy, going to classes and studying all through the night for that test, trying diet after diet to just weigh a little less, becoming someone you're not just to fit in with another group of people, there is a much bigger meaning and end goal to all of it. None of that is ever gonna satisfy. Ask anyone that you think has "made it" and see if they're fully and completely satisfied and happy.

I think its pretty cool because there's only one way to achieve that, that true satisfaction and pure joy, and that's through the Lord. Because we have a place we're going after this, where streets are made of gold and not a single tear is shed.

And I can't wait.

words and photo by Sara Beth