Have you ever desired something but decided to simply be with that desire without fulfilling it? Sometimes I hear my children say, "I'm hungry." And sometimes I say to them, "It's okay for you to be hungry." It's not the answer they want to hear. They assume, as do most kids, that we are not meant to be with our hunger. Hunger is a desire that should be fulfilled immediately. Instant gratification.
Love is a desire we all have within our hearts. One of the reasons so many of us do not have as much love in our lives as we want is because we act on our desire for love inappropriately. We become attached and addicted to people, things, and ideas. We are so interested in fulfilling that desire that we fail to simply be with our desire for awhile.
It is in "being with our desire for love" that we come to receive the gift of love. We wait for it and become ready to receive it when it arrives. Love is a gift that can only be received.
Lent is approaching. It is a good time to ponder what we want from God, from life. Instead of framing it as a time to give up something. What if we tried to spend some time with our desires without fulfilling them?
