How’s it going in quarantine, friends? Have you, like me, been longing for things to return to normal? I have been experiencing many longings...
- I’m longing to work without a mask and face shield (not to mention surgical hat, gown, gloves). 😷
- I’m longing to travel freely around the country and the world! 🌎
- I’m longing for big celebrations and sports and concerts and live theatre!! ⚾️ 🥳
- And most especially, I’m longing to see my people...those marvelous MurphyBros and MurphyGirls and grandma and grandpa and aunts and uncles and cousins and new babies and well...EVERYBODY! 👫👫👫👫👫👫👫👫👫👫👫
I started pondering these unfulfilled longings and what to do about them when I came across one of my postage stamps. Last year, July 2019, marked the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing. (The USPS commemorated the anniversary with some primo postage that’s really fab.🤩) Mr. Murphy and I enjoyed watching the HBO docudrama “From the Earth to the Moon” which tells the story of the Apollo program during the 1960s and 1970s last summer to celebrate the moon landing! I highly recommend it!
This April, however was another anniversary, an anniversary that reminds me of unfulfilled longings. April 2020 marked the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 13 failed lunar mission. Commanded by Jim Lovell, Apollo 13 was the third targeted moon landing. Everything seemed normal until the evening of April 13th, when it is believed a stray spark ignited an oxygen tank within the command module causing an explosion and seriously damaging the spacecraft. Lovell and his fellow astronauts, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert, huddled in the undamaged lunar module, a landing craft designed for two men, for the next four days. To save energy, only the most essential systems were kept powered up. The men were cold, uncomfortable, stressed and dealing with a seemingly constant onslaught of unforeseen engineering problems. With the help of mission control they returned safely to Earth on April 17, 1970. Their amazing story can be read in Jim Lovell’s book, aptly titled, LOST MOON: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13, and in the movie, “Apollo 13”, based on the book.
Talk about unfulfilled longings!! Jim Lovell is one of only three men to travel to the moon twice, but unlike the others, he NEVER walked on it. He accrued over 715 hours in space but never got to satisfy one of his deepest longings as an astronaut. 🌝 💔
“I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO LIVE WITH UNFULFILLED LONGINGS” is a lie that has worked it’s way deep into our culture. We may claim to understand this on the surface and not believe it, but if we examine our hearts honestly, deep down I think we will discover we live like we believe it. I know I sure struggle with this.
I want what I want! Why isn’t life fair? I work hard!! I deserve the fulfillment of my goals and hopes. After all, isn’t that what the American Dream is all about?
According to her book, Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth explains that this way of thinking leaves women perpetually unfulfilled, always groping, searching for something to fill the inner emptiness. Believing this lie has caused incredible heartache. It is a seed for much anxiety, resentment, bitterness and depression.
Nancy writes that the only way to stop believing a lie is to renew your mind with the truth. So here is some truth from the Word of God...
- I will always have unfulfilled longings this side of heaven. (Romans 8:23, 25; Ephesians 3:11; Hebrews 11:13-16)
- The deepest longings of my heart cannot be filled by any created person or thing. (Psalm 16:11; 73:25)
- If I will accept them, unfulfilled longings will increase my longing for God and for heaven. (Deuteronomy 8:3; Psalm 34:8-10; Philippians 3:20-4:1)
My prayer is that this crisis will end soon and we can return to “normal”, but even if it doesn’t and we’ve “lost the moon”, take comfort in the fact that God is in control! He sees. He knows. He provides a way. Seek Him.
Hang in there, everybody!
XOXO,
Mrs. Murphy
PS: If you have questions or want to discuss your own musings on mail or any other subject, send me some snailmail! If you are not already my penpal, you can message me through my blog’s Facebook page. (Mrs. Murphy’s Mailbox).
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