I looked down at the text message from my bestie and burst into tears. No, I silently answered through the tears, the hoped for, longed for, text had not come. It had been three years since I’d been in a relationship, and while there had been a few “almosts”, and “sort of’s”, I was still single and feeling passed over yet again. My heart wrestled with my head, arguing that the Lord knew best, and His timing would be perfect, but it didn’t diminish the pain and longing I felt in that moment.

“Why Lord?” My heart begged. I really liked this guy, like a lot. I was waiting, ready to love, and had been past by yet again. In the midst of my frustration and tears, the Holy Spirit began to whisper, “Katie, how many times have I stood by ready and waiting to love you and you passed Me by?

Ouch. Those selfish, pitiful, tears instantly turned into tears of repentance and thankfulness.

The Lord started a new season in my heart that night, a season of learning what longing is, and what it isn’t. – Won’t you join me for a short series on longings? While the these posts are going to be classified under a larger umbrella of a series on singleness, the next few posts going to focus on longings and desires. At the heart of it, all longings feel the same; they just look differently in each persons life. My longings have ranged from marriage, to friends, healing, ministry, family and a mentor. Others I know long for children, jobs, relationships; you fill in the blank -most of us have longings. What do you long for?

Next: What Longing Isn’t.

Also in this series:

What Longing Isn’t

Seeing Our Salvation in our Longings

What Longing Is

Longings – What now?