The Longing For a Dad | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Lifestyle

The Longing For a Dad

Discovering God as our father within a broken world

368
The Longing For a Dad
http://www.madeformums.com/uploads/images/original/127121.jpg

Within every person is a longing for something more. I remember feeling, "there must be something more than this life". Many people, like myself, struggle to find meaning in this world. This search will ultimately lead to nothing. King Solomon, who is believed to be the wisest king who ever lived, exclaims "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!" (Ecclesiastes chapter 1). Solomon had obtained an unimaginable amount of wisdom and riches throughout his life. He had great wives and concubines, but all of this was mere vanity to him. King Solomon's wisdom explains the hopelessness many of us feel. There must be something more. Fortunately, there is.

How do we find our hearts desire, and fulfill the longing we have? This question resounded in my mind for many weeks, and often depressed me. What finally brought me peace is the accepting the knowledge that I was made for God, and only he would be able so satisfy and give me something more than this life. I believe this desire is inherent in every human. Studies on child development (of which I have heard of many years ago) found that when a babe was deprived of intimacy from a mother, it would stop eating and moving, eventually losing motivation to live then die. I feel we are all babes (babies not ladies) that need this intimacy from our father, God.

Our search for this intimacy often takes us to God's creation. Buddhist monks talk about becoming one with nature and each other. They teach of the peace which comes from a transcendence of connecting with the trees, animals, and each other. I feel these monks are not too far from the truth. Through watching a sunset, touching a beautiful oak, or pursuing a woman, I feel a slight sense of beauty, of intimacy. We get a slight glimpse of God through his creation, but this will not bring us the fulfillment of the intimacy we desire. Even sex, which is the epitome of human intimacy by which we catch a quick glimpse into the love God created us for, eventually fails to satisfy the longing. King Solomons advice to us is to indulge ourselves, enjoy every part of life, and then discover the nothingness of it all and turn to God. He claims eternity has been placed in the hearts of men.

From my own experience I have discovered only intimacy with God my father satisfies the longing of my soul. Through this I am able to enjoy life more. A sunset can almost bring me to tears as I see deeper than the creation, I see the love of my dad as he tries to woo our hearts toward him. It's beautiful. It's romantic. It's God.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Lifestyle

The Great Christmas Movie Debate

"A Christmas Story" is the star on top of the tree.

688
The Great Christmas Movie Debate
Mental Floss

One staple of the Christmas season is sitting around the television watching a Christmas movie with family and friends. But of the seemingly hundreds of movies, which one is the star on the tree? Some share stories of Santa to children ("Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"), others want to spread the Christmas joy to adults ("It's a Wonderful Life"), and a select few are made to get laughs ("Elf"). All good movies, but merely ornaments on the Christmas tree of the best movies. What tops the tree is a movie that bridges the gap between these three movies, and makes it a great watch for anyone who chooses to watch it. Enter the timeless Christmas classic, "A Christmas Story." Created in 1983, this movie holds the tradition of capturing both young and old eyes for 24 straight hours on its Christmas Day marathon. It gets the most coverage out of all holiday movies, but the sheer amount of times it's on television does not make it the greatest. Why is it,
then? A Christmas Story does not try to tell the tale of a Christmas miracle or use Christmas magic to move the story. What it does do though is tell the real story of Christmas. It is relatable and brings out the unmatched excitement of children on Christmas in everyone who watches. Every one becomes a child again when they watch "A Christmas Story."

Keep Reading...Show less
student thinking about finals in library
StableDiffusion

As this semester wraps up, students can’t help but be stressed about finals. After all, our GPAs depends on these grades! What student isn’t worrying about their finals right now? It’s “goodbye social life, hello library” time from now until the end of finals week.

1. Finals are weeks away, I’m sure I’ll be ready for them when they come.

Keep Reading...Show less
Christmas tree
Librarian Lavender

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Christmas is one of my personal favorite holidays because of the Christmas traditions my family upholds generation after generation. After talking to a few of my friends at college, I realized that a lot of them don't really have "Christmas traditions" in their family, and I want to help change that. Here's a list of Christmas traditions that my family does, and anyone can incorporate into their family as well!

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 5 Phases Of Finals

May the odds be ever in your favor.

2027
Does anybody know how to study
Gurl.com

It’s here; that time of year when college students turn into preschoolers again. We cry for our mothers, eat everything in sight, and whine when we don’t get our way. It’s finals, the dreaded time of the semester when we all realize we should have been paying attention in class instead of literally doing anything else but that. Everyone has to take them, and yes, unfortunately, they are inevitable. But just because they are here and inevitable does not mean they’re peaches and cream and full of rainbows. Surviving them is a must, and the following five phases are a reality for all majors from business to art, nursing to history.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

How To Prepare For The Library: Finals Edition

10 ways to prepare for finals week—beginning with getting to the library.

3276
How To Prepare For The Library: Finals Edition
Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

It’s that time of year again when college students live at the library all week, cramming for tests that they should have started studying for last month. Preparing to spend all day at the library takes much consideration and planning. Use these tips to help get you through the week while spending an excessive amount of time in a building that no one wants to be in.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments