But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)
Gozde, our foreign exchange student from Izmir, Turkey, stood among the racks of teen clothing at Target and said to me, “Mom, my eyes are hungry.” I asked her what she meant by that statement. She replied, “I want everything I see.” So simple and so true; I knew immediately what she meant. I have “hungry eyes” too. Maybe we all do. My eyes are hungry for antiques, trendy fashion, crafts, and fabric.
I see the cost of my hunger now that we have moved three times in as many years. The cost? I have a lot of “stuff” that I no longer see with hunger. I see it all as a costly weight – burdens to be boxed and carted from one house to another.
I admit, like in a 12-step program, that my hungry eyes have never given me lasting satisfaction. Fashions change, crafts lose their charm and collect dust. So, why do I fall for their tricks and give in to the hunger and fleeting satisfaction? Because I am human. Because I am weak.
Like many of you, I learned at a young age the difference between a “want” and a “need.” Because I am broken by sin, my eyes are hungry for what I WANT, not what I NEED. What I need is to want to be closer to Christ. What I need is the bone-deep, life-lasting satisfaction that comes from living for Christ, with His Spirit within me. What I need is to ask for the strength to ignore my hungry eyes and listen instead to my hungry heart. It is the hungry heart that controls my hungry eyes. And nothing fills my hungry heart like the love of Jesus Christ! The best part? A full heart NEVER goes out of style!
Min. Billie Dreher