I tell my kids that life is 80% slogging through mud and 20% of moments of incandescent joy. I think we have to be clear-eyed about how much suffering there is. Clearly, no one wants to suffer unnecessary pain, but quite a bit of it is out of our control.
Definitely! We so very much want our kids to be happy. What good parent can stand by indifferently as they suffer? And it even makes us cry out to God, "Hey, don't you love my daughters (or sons)?"
I'd much rather suffer personally than my kids. But clearly communicating something like your 80/20 principle can prepare them for reality.
Well, it's certainly better than my other phrase, which I say occasionally, which is, "Life sucks, and then you die." Or another of my classics, "The first hundred years are the hardest." 🤣
Yes, and I think it also includes significance. To be desired, accepted, and valued are certainly longings we all share. Seems to me they all share roots in those three core longings.
Mark, your words ring true in my experience. I had to crash and burn before I was able to begin to experience the joy of being fully known and fully accepted in Christ. It’s been a long, slow, painful process. But I give thanks for God’s mercy and patience in teaching me that only He can satisfy the deepest longings of my heart.
Ugh! I hate crashing and burning! Been there a number of times as well. But as so many kingdom people have said, there are treasures found in the darkness that cannot be gained anywhere else.
I tell my kids that life is 80% slogging through mud and 20% of moments of incandescent joy. I think we have to be clear-eyed about how much suffering there is. Clearly, no one wants to suffer unnecessary pain, but quite a bit of it is out of our control.
Definitely! We so very much want our kids to be happy. What good parent can stand by indifferently as they suffer? And it even makes us cry out to God, "Hey, don't you love my daughters (or sons)?"
I'd much rather suffer personally than my kids. But clearly communicating something like your 80/20 principle can prepare them for reality.
Well, it's certainly better than my other phrase, which I say occasionally, which is, "Life sucks, and then you die." Or another of my classics, "The first hundred years are the hardest." 🤣
How would the longing to be desired fit in with the core longings you mentioned? Would it fall under love and belonging?
Yes, and I think it also includes significance. To be desired, accepted, and valued are certainly longings we all share. Seems to me they all share roots in those three core longings.
Mark, your words ring true in my experience. I had to crash and burn before I was able to begin to experience the joy of being fully known and fully accepted in Christ. It’s been a long, slow, painful process. But I give thanks for God’s mercy and patience in teaching me that only He can satisfy the deepest longings of my heart.
Ugh! I hate crashing and burning! Been there a number of times as well. But as so many kingdom people have said, there are treasures found in the darkness that cannot be gained anywhere else.
May God continue to enfold you, brother!