Lent Day 12: What Are You Longing For?

 As a deer longs for flowing streams,
   so my soul longs for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God,
   for the living God.
~Psalm 42:1-2a

I abandon my promised practice of blogging daily lectionary passages, because I found Kate Bowler's question in our devotional so provocative this morning: 

What is your heart longing for today? Are you longing for something in the future, in the past, or for what might have been?*

So, I'm going to answer, from the heart, what I am longing for today. And I am going to ask you this same question: What is your heart longing for today? Please respond in the comments.

I long to live in a country where brilliant, green-card holding physicians are not barred entry because they hold Lebanese passports. 

I long to live in a country where people--the most vulnerable among us--are not deported to countries where their lives may be in danger, or where they have never lived, or where they have no friends or relations. 

I long to live in a country where women are equal citizens under the law with absolute bodily autonomy.

I long to live in a country which is not destroying the social safety net.

I long to live in a country where unelected sociopaths are not in charge of destroying government agencies and redistributing huge amounts of resources so that he, personally will benefit financially.

I long to live in a country where empathy is not described as a bug or failure in human character.

I long to live in a country where the hungry are fed, the thirsty are given clean, potable water to drink, where the naked are clothed, where the sick are cared for, where the imprisoned are treated like human beings with minds and futures, and where the strangers, aliens, immigrants, are not demonized and hunted like animals.

I long to live in a country where xenophobia is a quaint relic of the past and not the guiding principle of a government and political party.

I long to live in a country where the actual words of Jesus guide Christians, and not the trippy fantasy that almost didn't make it into the biblical canon.

I long to live in a country where disagreeing with the leader doesn't get you death threats.

I long to live in a country that isn't hell-bent on dragging us all into a dystopian future on a planet that cannot any longer sustain human life. 

I long to live in a country that isn't perfect, but is well-intentioned--where elected officials have the well-being of their constituents as their utmost priority, and not lining their pockets with money from big oil and big pharma.

I long to live in a country where the leader isn't using his power to take revenge on everyone who ever slighted him.

I long to live in a country that is trying to be better. That's all.

How about you?

*Question from Daily Guide, The Hardest Part, Everything Happens, co-authored by Brenda Thompson, MDiv, Angela Taylor, MDiv, Hailie Durrett, and Karen Bowler, PhD, copyright 2025.