Longing for God: A Reflection on Being Homesick



Reflections



Posted On November 30, 2024

I’m often homesick. It’s not the same homesickness I felt as a seven-year-old when I slept over at a friend’s house, got scared during the night, and wanted to go home. It’s a different kind of homesickness.

I’m homesick for God.

It’s an ache deep inside—hard to put into words. It feels like longing for the face of a loved one who has passed—a memory just out of reach, faint but persistent, calling me back to something I can’t quite grasp.I sit in silence each morning, hoping the ache will fade or resolve itself. Instead, it grows stronger, tugging at my heart like a restless child seeking attention.

One day during my quiet time, I whispered to God, “What is this longing inside me? Why do I feel so incomplete?”

In the silence, I sensed the Creator’s gentle response: You are yearning for me, your home, your Source of Love.

In the stillness, God’s words were like a candle’s light piercing the darkness. God helped me understand the ache I’d been resisting wasn’t something to fix or avoid. It was an invitation to draw closer to God, to connect with the Divine Presence dwelling within me.

What Is This Longing for God?

Our yearning for God is the soul’s innate desire to return to its Source. It’s the magnetic pull of love calling us Home, the search for a deeper connection to something greater than ourselves.

We might experience this yearning as a restlessness in our minds—an unfulfilled desire for meaning or purpose—or as an ache in our hearts, a sense of incompleteness. Sometimes, it manifests in our bodies as tension, unease, or a sense of emptiness.

This yearning reminds us we are not just physical beings navigating the world. We are spiritual beings, designed to seek union with the Divine, to remember the face of God we saw in heaven before we came to earth.

Why Do We Have This Yearning?

Saint Augustine said, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you, O God.” This restlessness is woven into the DNA of our humanity. We were created as one with God; this yearning is our soul’s way of reminding us of that truth. It’s a holy hunger that can’t be satisfied by worldly success, relationships, or material comforts.

Only God’s love can fill the mysterious void deep within us.

Experiencing the Longing: Body, Mind, and Soul

When we pay attention, we might notice how this yearning shows up in our lives:

• In the body: as a knot in the stomach, a tightness in the chest, or a sigh of longing.

• In the mind: as a searching for answers, a questioning of life’s meaning, or a persistent restlessness.

• In the soul: as a deep desire to experience love, peace, and connection beyond the surface of life.

Our yearning is not a problem to solve but a gift to embrace. It’s an invitation to deepen our relationship with God and ourselves.

Using Tara Brach’s R.A.I.N. Method to Hold Our Holy Longing

Psychologist and mindfulness teacher Tara Brach offers a tool called RAIN to help us navigate challenging emotions.

We can adapt it to hold our yearning for God in a way that draws us closer to the Divine.

1. R—Recognize

Pause and recognize the yearning. Name it: “This is my longing for God.”

2. A—Allow

Allow the feeling to be present. Let it exist without judgment. Instead of pushing it away or trying to resolve it, make space for it. Whisper to yourself, “It’s okay to feel this longing.”

3. I—Investigate

Gently explore the yearning. Ask, “Where do I feel this in my body? What does this longing want me to know?” Often, the yearning carries a message, such as “I want to feel God’s love” or “I desire to reconnect with my True Self.”

4. N—Nurture

Offer kindness to yourself and to the longing. Imagine God’s love pouring into the ache, soothing and filling it. Remind yourself, “This longing is holy. It’s leading me closer to God.”

Embracing the Longing as a Gift

Our yearning for God is not a weakness or a flaw. It’s a sacred compass guiding us toward our Authentic Selves and the Divine Presence within us.

When I stopped resisting my ache and instead embraced it as a gift, it became a doorway to a deeper relationship with God. Each time the longing rises within me, I now see it as a gentle nudge from the Creator, reminding me to rest in abiding love.

Perhaps your longing is calling you too. Can you recognize it, allow it, investigate its message, and nurture it with compassion?

In doing so, you may discover that your yearning isn’t something to overcome but an inner pathway to your deepest union with God.

Here’s to holy longing. Here’s to being homesick for God.

—brian j plachta
brianplachta.com

Music: A Spiritual Practice for Your Toolbox

Have you ever felt God’s voice gently reach you through music? A song’s melody and lyrics can soften the noise of our restless minds, helping us connect with the Spirit who patiently waits within our hearts.

Pause. Find a quiet space where you can be present to God and the sacred longing stirring in your soul.

Then click the link below and listen to Rich Mullins’ “Hold Me Jesus.”

Let the music wrap around you like a warm embrace.

As you listen, open your heart and let God’s love flow into the depths of your holy longing.

Click Here: Hold Me Jesus

PS–Get into the Divine Flow by picking up a copy of my latest book, Finding Flow–Spiritual Practices to Reclaim Inner Peace, Balance, and Wholeness.

Click here for a 3-minute video about Finding Flow

Get your copy of Finding Flow in paperback or digital format on Amazon:

Click Here to Get Your Finding Flow Book

Pay It Forward!
Do you know of someone who would like to receive these weekly Simple Wisdom reflections? Feel free to forward this email to them.They can sign up to receive their personal copy of each week’s email by clicking on this link to my website: https://blog.brianplachta.com

Written by Brian J. Plachta

Following the Breadcrumbs God Leaves Along Our Path

What if God is speaking through ordinary moments more often than we realize?

A conversation that stays with us. A door that closes. A quiet nudge we can’t quite explain. An unexpected invitation that seems to come at just the right time.

The challenge is learning to notice these moments before we have any idea where they’re leading, and trusting the next step.

Over time, we may begin to see that God’s guidance doesn’t always come as an answer. Sometimes, it comes as a trail.

What to Do When God Seems Silent

Has silence ever made you feel like God is far away? When we feel this way, it’s easy to start looking for answers or waiting for a clear sign. But prayer can also be as simple as slowing down and noticing what’s already here. The breeze. The waves. Your breath. The quiet. God’s presence doesn’t always come through words. Sometimes we just need to be still enough to notice.

Let God Alone Define You

Ever have someone’s words get stuck in your head?
Maybe they criticized you, misunderstood you, or told a story about you that doesn’t feel true. And before long, you’re holding a courtroom in your mind—defending yourself, replaying the conversation, wondering if maybe they’re right.

There’s another way.

Bring it into the quiet with God.

Ask: Is there something here I need to learn? Is there something I need to own? And what was never mine to carry in the first place?

We can stay humble enough to receive the truth without letting someone else’s opinion become our identity.

Because in the end, God alone defines you.

« Older Entries

2 Comments

RANDY LEVINE on November 30, 2024 at 7:44 pm
An answer to a nagging question, an invitation to loving Communion and return to oneness. Thank you for putting this whole process in an accessible, way that speaks to the mind, heart and soul.
Reply
- brian j. plachta on November 30, 2024 at 8:01 pm
  You bet Randy! You inspire me to grow as you delve deep into the questions that many of us seek answers. We are in the Flow!!
  Reply