Taking up a prompt again from…
Empty.
Just looking at the word I feel it.
No, I don’t, really…
I remember it!
That old hollow that yawned within, that bottomless pit into which I stuffed things and events and experiences and busy lists of accomplishments, and yet it gaped still wide.
He said it, ages ago, Augustine did, that in us each that hungry vacuum lies that only the God of Life can fill, and so we have no peace, no slaking of our famine, are ever restless till we find our rest in Him, till He fills with His fullness and the hunger goes away, and all that stuff we used to grab to stuff the gap grows meaningless, or at least peripheral.
I’ve come to like the empty page, the empty vase, the empty calendar, with slots where I can place a thought, a flower, a time of prayer or a quiet walk, and still give all the wiggle room that lets each stretch wide and high and reach and spread. I need that “white space” into which to pour out that which God pours in…
I love the empty waiting canvas of a day, a night, a week, an eternity…
But not that vacuum of my past, dark craving cavern of a famished soul, athirst for…?
God!
For Christ,
who fills all with His fullness.
“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ…” –Colossians 2:9-10 NIV
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You get it, you get how to be filled, that is obvious. I pray that the lovely empty vases you enjoy will be filled with Christ and that vacuums of the past will just be testimonies.
Laura,
What a lovely blessing! Feels like soothing oil to my soul! Thank you, much, and rich blessing back to you!
Beautifully written. Such truth found here. Only God alone can fulfill our empty spaces. So glad I stopped by, new friend.
Joan,
I’m so glad to meet you, too, new friend, and get to know you a little. We’re right on the same page with this, aren’t we?
“I’ve come to like the empty page, the empty vase, the empty calendar, with slots where I can place . . .”
I never thought I’d say it, much less believe it, but I’ve come to like those empty things too, especially the empty calendar!
Allowing my life to become an empty canvas ~ an empty vessel ~ has been the most fulfilling thing I’ve ever done, for that is when He can come in and reside, fully.
Oh, yes, Denise, I remember when I said to people, “I like being busy. I’m happiest when I’m busy.” But that was (mostly) before I knew Him, and the busy can so quickly run to overload, displacing the best with empty activity. And I think sometimes for me it was just a cover to hide what I didn’t want to see, or be reminded of. You speak truth so beautifully here. God bless you with some empty spaces on that calendar, filled with joy in Him. 🙂
AMEN!! I get almost giddy when I see an empty block on the calendar. Not too many of those ahead, but I have said no twice recently. Today (Saturday) is a day (at least a morning) with my LORD…I was blessed by this as I try to compile the notes for tomorrow’s lesson.
Hi Laurie,
“Almost giddy” almost made me giggle. I know what you mean. I remember.
I hope your time this morning is being blessed! And prayers for your tomorrow! Remember it isn’t really about how great a job you do, it’s about His strength being manifested in our weakness, His truth shining through human prisms. Your heart is so earnest, there is bound to be good fruit, visible or invisible.
God bless it!
What a beautiful post! There’s a big difference between an emptiness and the expectation of a blank canvas, isn’t there?
Sure is, Joe! And it takes some people (like me) too long sometimes to see the latter when that’s what’s right in front of them! Thanks for visiting.
Thanks for the reminder that only God can fill that emptiness we feel. So often I forget this and end up frustrated and despairing as I seek to fill this void with other things that always disappoint. Very good post, thanks. 🙂
Ironic perhaps, Tricia, and unfortunate, but I need the reminder myself, way too often! Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless!