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Hope for the Day

Look in the Hollow

Diane Houghtaling
Posted 7/8/22

One of my favorite places to walk is up a road through a wooded area with a brook running alongside it. It’s a bit of a steep walk, but the beauty of the surroundings keeps me trudging along, …

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Hope for the Day

Look in the Hollow

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One of my favorite places to walk is up a road through a wooded area with a brook running alongside it. It’s a bit of a steep walk, but the beauty of the surroundings keeps me trudging along, and I stop often to take in the wonder of it all.

Near my turn-around spot is a towering tree with a hollow in it. In spite of the hollow, the tree looks healthy and strong. When I looked into the hollow, I noticed little piles of sawdust here and there. Carpenter ants were busy gnawing out their burrows deep inside.

Many of us are like that tree. We do our best to stand strong, and we appear healthy and stable to others. But inside we have a gaping hole, a hollow, empty spot. Our hollow may be the result of a broken heart, or loneliness, rejection, grief, loss, disappointment or unmet expectations. Our lives did not go as we’d hoped, planned or expected, and now we are empty and hollow inside.

In spite of doing our best to put on a good front, our bark may be a little rough. Our sap still runs, but we try our best to hide the tears from others. Our leaves are full and showy, until we are alone and fall apart. We do our best to hide the pain of our hollows, for what would others think if we exposed our hurt and emptiness to them?

As much as we try to hide our hollows from others, and many times even from ourselves, God is very aware of what lies within us. He sees the gnawing pain shredding our insides and making the hollow bigger. He sees the little bugs within, the thoughts that eat away at our faith and cause us to lose hope that the hollow will ever be filled.

Of course we have tried to fill our hollows ourselves. Some try to fill the hollows in their trees with concrete, but this only makes it worse and causes more wounding to the tree as the concrete doesn’t move when the tree grows. Our own attempts to fill the empty void within has left our hearts stony and hard.

Some trees eventually succumb to the hollow within and begin to deteriorate from the inside out from heart rot disease. These eventually must come down. If we’re not careful, we, too, can be a victim of heart rot, which also destroys us from the inside out. Bitterness, resentment and sorrow can take root in our hearts, causing a slow decay.

So what can be done to fill the hollows in our hearts? Is there any hope to prevent our own heart rot disease? There is only one hope available to us. Only Jesus can fill the void, the empty hollows within our hearts and lives. Jesus came to take our sin and sorrows upon Himself, and He suffered and died on that cross to give us hope of a new life.

They say that when a hollowed tree suddenly starts to lean, it’s dangerous and must come down. But for us, leaning on Jesus is our only way up, to be able to stand strong, whole and well, filled up on the inside with all He has to offer us.

So take a look into your heart today. If it’s empty and hollow, invite Jesus in to fill you to overflowing.

Hope Ministries is a Christian counseling center, and we are here to help. If you would like to speak confidentially with someone, give us a call at 845-482-5300.

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