As many of you know, I have been reading a book by John Eldredge, “Desire.” This has been the most challenging book I have ever read. There were some days I considered myself an emotional masochist for turning yet another page. Many people would most likely view this as a self-help book. I look at this book though as something different. There is one thing that I think we need to realize as human beings, not everything is going to be perfect. We are caught in this spiral of trying to fix everything and that we can get what we want. You see it in bookstores and on flyers in windows. This book though I think offered for me something a little different. It was for me a complete eye-opener to things that have never crossed my mind. That to me is the beauty of community; not telling people how to live, but sharing how they live.

Read more in Book Talk

« Rich Dad Poor Dad

Books are Just Ink on Pages: The Reason Why Reading Might be Boring »

“Life is not a problem to be solved; it is an adventure to be lived.”

Ever since I started this book, my outlook on life has shifted. Not to say that I worship the book in a way that it overcomes the Bible; but to say that it has opened my eyes to things I have never really thought about. The things that I have thought about were expanded into words that I didn’t know how to say. Words come fairly easily to me, but there were things that Eldredge described and explained that made me put the book down for a few days because my mind needed a break. Some of the things I read were hard to read because they were true.

Every now and then we hear things that we really don’t want to hear. We are humbled by things that make us angry and annoyed. One thing that Eldredge said that hit hard was, “We must return to the Scriptures for the story it is and stop approaching it as if it is an encyclopedia, looking for ‘tips and techniques.’” What an interesting concept. It’s more apparent to me now that we often only turn to the Bible or God in general for instructions on ways out.

Desire. We as humans desire things. We long for love, life, happiness, security, and many other things. These things can work for and against us. Because they can work against us, the idea of following our desires scares the life out of us; literally. We have dropped what our hearts really want for security and safety, but we are lifeless. The true joy of our hearts is rarely seen. “We hide our true desire and call it maturity.” We are so anesthetized that we have dropped our true joys in life so that we won’t get hurt. Then we have to weigh something though, joy or safety.

“To desire is to open our hearts to the possibility of pain; to shut down our hearts is to die altogether.”

What’s worse is we adapt to it and we consider it the normal life. We want adventure within a safe environment. We then only find a half-assed copy of joy in our life that is secure. Sometimes it’s settling for less because the best has too much risk. Personally, I would rather enjoy a life adventuring towards what my heart wants and get hurt rather than settling down in a place early for a step down of joy.

Is it worth it? Yes. When was the last time you were so happy you just didn’t know how to express yourself? Even if you are an artist, the idea of drawing it or painting it just didn’t do the emotion justice. These are the things that God has placed uniquely into your heart. Desires are the indescribable things that tug our heart towards something that God has uniquely designed us for.
There was a statement that opened up my eyes greatly, “The bottom line is, we don’t want to wait for the promise of God to be fulfilled.” Think about it, we have taken the false desires and the simple pleasures of the world instead of what our heart really wants. We don’t want to wait. Last time I read, “Love is patient.” How much do we actually love God? We won’t wait for him, we won’t listen to him, and we sure don’t turn to him. We have made God out to be less than he is. There was a description in the book that talks about what we all know to be as the “kiss.”

“Let me give another example: what is the truth of a kiss? Technically, in a modernistic sense, it is two sets of mandibles pressing together for a certain duration of time. Those of you who have experienced the wonders of a kiss will know that while true, the description is so untrue. It takes away everything beautiful and mysterious and passionate and intimate and leaves you with an icy cold fact. Those who know kissing feel robbed; those who don’t are apt to say, ‘If that’s what kissing is all about, I think I’d rather not.’”

Wow. Think about God and what religion and humankind have done to what God really is. He is not a fact to be learned about from a book. He is something to be experienced and all in the same way beautiful, mysterious, passionate, and intimate.

I desire to have a relationship with my Father in heaven. I desire to be a successful writer. I desire to express myself through art and music. I desire to become closer to people whom I have come to call family and friends. When I find myself embracing one of these things all the while being embraced by God, there is no greater joy. It’s the kind of joy that leaves you in tears and gives you shivers down your spine. It’s the kind of joy that makes you feel lighter when you stand. It’s the joy that makes you turn you music a little louder and makes you dance shamelessly. Writers write poems, musicians compose songs and artist paint and draw their greatest works.

Many people would describe it as a natural high. To be honest, I have experienced one illegal drug in my life. Although it felt great, the joy that comes from my true desires surpasses the feelings that it offered. Not to subliminally say that drugs are bad, but they aren’t fulfilling. It’s the moments that you want to last forever that surpass these petty substitutes. As a hope though, in heaven, they will. The feeling of joy as God experiences is offered to us through love and Jesus’ sacrifice. Not only did God fight for our souls, but our happiness as well. He sent his only son so that we would experience love and joy in its purest form.

To finish off this blog, there is a song I have discovered by Modest Mouse titled “Little Motel.” The chorus line repeats, “That’s what I’m waiting for.” Whether or not it is in context of the song or not, that line stuck with me throughout the last three chapters in the book. As I am finishing this blog I realize why. I’m waiting for a joy that is so pure and a life that is so amazing. This is just the beginning of an amazing journey, an adventure; one that is filled with peril and pain and love and hope.

I encourage you all to read this book. Put aside theology and soften your hearts. This is not an easy read. This book has taken everything I thought was true about myself and reshaped my view of myself and my passions. It has opened my eyes to see that God is in all things, even my desires. Patience has been hammered into my mind and allowing God to show me what those are has been humbling.

Will I ever have it completely right? Of course not; but will I have a smile on my face and a loving God at my side? Of course.