Hole vs. Whole

I wanted to cry. I wanted to cry for a girl I’d never met. A girl I didn’t even know.
I wanted to cry for the hurt and anguish she must’ve been feeling. And I wanted to cry because I know the person who is the solution, but I just don’t always know the best way to get Him out there.

I get so upset and stirred up when I see images and stories of young women and girls who struggle to feel at peace with themselves. Young women and girls who turn to drink, drugs, eating disorders, bullying, sex, plastic surgery and a whole list of other things to try and fill that discomfort. To try and ease the pain, take away some of the hurt, or become something they don’t feel they are naturally.

And I get upset because even though I think I’m pretty sorted and I’d never resort to some of the things listed above, I still struggle with this myself. It seems that as women living in this fallen world we are constantly at war with ourselves and other women. We strive to find whatever it is that fills the holes we feel. The insecurities, the hurts, the loneliness. And even as someone who knows where to turn to find wholeness, restoration and completeness, I still look in the wrong places first!

Sometimes I’m just such a slow learner!

A nicer house/car/possessions won’t make me feel whole.
The latest fashions won’t make me feel whole.
A big bank balance won't make me feel whole.
A new hair cut might be nice…but it won’t make me feel whole.
The perfect body…whatever that is…won’t make me feel whole.
Drinking until I can’t remember where I am or even stand won’t make me feel whole.
Putting someone else down won’t make me feel whole.
Knowing the latest gossip won’t make me feel whole.
Giving my body to someone else won’t make me feel whole.

Knowing that God loves me, unconditionally, just as I am…can make me whole.
Having a relationship with God and knowing that He has a promise of a future for me…can make me whole.
Calling Jesus my saviour and allowing Him to take my sins away…can make me whole.
Walking day by day with the Holy Spirit as my companion…can make me whole.

Lord, I pray that I learn to turn to you first when I feel I have a hole. That I look to you to complete me and make me whole.