Journey of Desire

THE JOURNEY OF DESIRE
by John Eldredge

"Once upon a time there lived a sea lion who had lost the sea.
He lived in a country know as the barren lands. High on a plateau, far from
any coast, it was a place so dry and dusty that it could only be called a desert. A kind of coarse grass grew in patches here
and there, and a few trees were scattered across the horizon.
But mostly, it was dust. And sometimes wind, which together make one very thirsty. Of course, it must seem strange to you  that such a beautiful creature should wind up in a desert at all. He was, mind you, a sea lion.
But things like this do happen.

How the sea lion came
to the barren lands, no one could remember. It all seemed so
very long ago. So long, in fact, it appeared as though he had always been there. Not that he belonged in such an arid place. How could that be? He was, after all, a sea lion. But as you know, once you
have lived so long in a certain spot, no matter how odd,
you come to think of it as home." 

I read this poem/short story this morning in Eldredge's book called "Desire." And I at first I felt sad for the lost Sea... How frustrating would that be.. being stuck in a place that isn't really home and being thirsty for water where there is none available.  Then I thought about this Sea Lion's friends.... (because we really arn't talking about a seal lion are we?) why the heck would they let their friend get so lost that he didn't know how to get back home?  Or maybe it was his so called friends that lead him to the barren land... who knows...But in the end the sea lion lost his desire to ever find his way back home. Becoming content with the way things were...

Being okay will "all wrong"

But I think that everyone of us can relate to this "sea lion."  We may be lost in a career, or in a crowd, and maybe..... just...

Lost......

Eldredge says "there is a secret set within each of our hearts... it often goes unnoticed, we rarely can put words to it, and yet it guides us throughout the days of our lives.... It is the desire for life as it was meant to be!"


We all desire something... don't we. Maybe its something as simple as finding a new outfit for a wedding.. but usually the things we desire are much deeper than clothing.  We are on a quest to find the life that is for us... to find out who we are. 


Erwin's "Soul Cravings" talks of the same quest. All of humanity is craving for purpose and meaning... love & acceptance... a place called home.


I don't want to be like the sea lion.


Fortunately, we don't have to be like the sea lion and go on living..."but not really living" in a place that isn't home. God gave us purpose and a home when Jesus hung on the cross and died for my sins... your sins... the World's Sins! Because of HIS love for me.. you... the world...  We can live with purpose.


In one of U2's songs he writes..
"I still haven't found what I'm looking for" And isn't that the secret desire of the human heart... to search for something to make life fit...
our hearts  are yearning for what only God can offer...

Real unconditional LOVE

A TRUE HOME.