Every relationship has hurdles; some kind of obstacle to go through to reach a new place, whether it be intimacy, trust, or even love.  My cousin recently blogged about the “God Shaped Hole”. Plumb wrote a song and I believe that was the inspiration for her post. Here are a few lines of the chorus:

There’s a God-shaped hole in all of us
And the restless soul is searching
There’s a God-shaped hole in all of us
And it’s a void only he can fill


Does the world seem gray with empty longing
Wearing every shade of cynical
And do you ever feel that
There is something missing?

My answer to her question is “yes”. There is something missing, missing inside of me; a void that I am expecting others to fill. And as the story goes, the void goes unfilled leading to disappointment and frustration. Frustration leads to riffs in my relationships and the painful cycle continues.

Sad to say, but I find it comforting to know that the place I’m in now has plagued people for centuries. For no reason, do I want anyone to suffer this, but I’m glad to know that I am not the only who has ever experienced this.

In borrowed information from Glenn F. Chesnut, I found that famous philosopher and mathematician Pascal (1623-1662) wrote in his Pensees (actual thoughts) and described the God Shaped Hole as this:

“What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself.”

The great African Saint Augustine wrote (directed to God) in Confessions, “You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are rest-less till they find their rest in you.”
He went on to pray, “The house of my soul is too small for you to come in to me; let it be enlarged by you. It is in ruins, but I ask you to remake it. It contains much that you will not be pleased to see; this I confess to you and do not hide it.”

In Psalm 51:17 (the Message), David had this to say, “Going through the motions doesn’t please you, a flawless performance is nothing to you. I learned God-worship when my pride was shattered. Heart-shattered lives ready for love, don’t for a moment, escape God’s notice.”

It’s time I invite God to “Come into my heart and still my tormenting, restless discontent…” Since God can already see the void, why not invite Him in?

Love in Christ,
Nichole