Longings and God

All of our actions and emotions are tied into our desires, our longings. Why we do what we do is all tied into what we desire, what we long for. Be this longing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich because we are hungry and enjoy the taste of pb&j. Be this longing to score the winning touchdown or goal in a game so we look good to all our friends and impress the girl or so that we don't hurt the desires for a win of those on our team. Be this a longing for a girlfriend/boyfriend so that we have intimacy, love, and affection. Be these longings whatever they may be, they run our lives.
But where is God in all this? Is HE present in us scoring the goal? Is HE present in us eating a sandwich? Is HE present in our relationships, with friends and significant others? Of course HE is! HE is present in all that we do and all that we are. We all know this, yet do we all realize it? How many times is it that we take credit for an action that we performed because God gave us that desire, that longing? I know that I've done that numerous times before in my own life and I'm sure that I will do it again. That is part of what is so AMAZING about HIS love. He forgives us for these actions when we don't recognize HIM. God is a God of love and compassion, not anger and pride.
How is it then that we take our longings and bring them to God? Do we just magically say here you go God? Do we bring our offerings to God as timid, frightened creatures? We may do that or we may jus t let HIM guide us. Dying to ourselves and seeing HIS plan is one of the hardest, if not hardest, thing to do in our lives. Our pride doesn't allow us to see HIS plan. It only points us into seeing our longings and desires. It points us towards our own paths, often times paths of destruction and not joy. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us “I know well the plans I have for you, plans for your benefit, not your woe.” If God has all these great plans for us, why is it so hard to listen to HIM? Why do we let our desires get in the way of HIS plan? Do all of our longings get in the way of God's plans though? Can we use our longings to further HIS plan and Kingdom? Of course we can! We can do this so easily. Two big ways to foster God's Kingdom and love are seen in our longings. One, which is fairly obvious, is answering those longings that are from God and praise HIM, ie loving our family, praying, etc. The other way is not easy, not at all. In fact its down right difficult and sometimes impossible. It is rejecting our desires and seeing God through our sufferings. I have been reading a book about Padre Pio and his life. One of the comments made by Padre Pio is that God is purifying him through his suffering. This coming from a man who is a Saint and lived an amazing life devoted entirely to the Lord, but that wasn't good enough. God wanted him to suffer and purify his heart so that Padre Pio would only see God and not all of his earthly desires. Its the same thing for any of us when we give up something we really want. It brings a smile to God, especially when we offer that suffering to God. How hard is it not to have that desert when we are at a nice restaurant? Sometimes its very difficult, yet how much happier would God be if we didn't eat that and said God I want you to know I am giving this up for love of you. How hard is it to not see those that you love? It is SUPER difficult and so many of our waking moments are spent wondering, contemplating what they are doing, and longing to be there to see them smile. Just to be there and give them a hug. But sometimes this isn't possible, believe me I know how hard it can be to not see the one who care for copious of copious amounts. But there is God in that. God is calling us, calling me, to offer up that sacrifice for HIM and HIS glory, to offer it up for all the Souls in Purgatory and for our own purification. We may use our angels to help fulfill our longings. Our angels are able to go to others, even when we are unable to.