The Longing

The young priest held lightly to his small prayer book. He pondered the decision he had made which had brought him to this scantily furnished room. A room without distractions. A room for contemplation.

His decision to follow God had not been forced but born of a desire to give back to the One who had given him life and the beautiful world in which to live it.

But somehow despite a comfortable contentment he could feel a longing for......he couldn’t find the answer.

But why was he thinking like this? Here was a sudden and unexpected deviation of thought. It didn’t follow his usual unvarying pattern. God was still God, the same wonderful God, but what had changed? 

As he looked out of the window he saw an eagle in flight high above the forest. Nothing God created could soar like the eagle. Magnificient, dominant, untouchable. Did the eagle, so high and so free, feel close to God up there, he wondered? 

That was it! There was the answer! Despite the necessary solitude and his unwavering dedication to the study of God’s word, he had drifted from God’s presence. He hadn’t imagined that could ever happen. The longing in his heart was for the warmth, the companionship, the irreplaceable presence of God. 

He put down his prayer book and in his small earthly room, which he and God had shared so blissfully, he felt his heart begin to glow and his spirit began to soar.