Longings & Babette’s Feast—Part 7: The Pursuit of Longings

Give me a chance to do my best.—Babette

Babette sacrificed everything in her longing to prepare a feast for the community (and some unexpected guests). When Martina and Phillipa discovered Babette’s sacrifice, shock washed across their faces, and Phillipa sat/fell into a chair.

“Now you will be poor the rest of your life," the sisters lamented, to which Babette smiled and replied, “An artist is never poor.”

“But this is not the end, Babette,” Phillipa asserted, standing again. She drew close to Babette, shock replaced with wonder. “In paradise you will be the great artist God meant you to be. Ah. . .” she sighed, embracing Babette. “How you will delight the angels . . . ”

My Hope for You

May you become the artist—or mom, small business owner, or electrician—God intends you to be. May you persevere in pursuit of the goal. And if your heart grows weary, cry out, “My heart is sick, Lord! Heal my heart.” Whether or not you become a great artist in this life, I believe you will in the next. As Tolkien affirmed, “You are living in a very great story.”

Romans 8 talks about the resurrection life we’ve received—now, this side of heaven. Not a grave-tending life, but an adventurous one, greeting God constantly with an expectant, “What’s next, Papa?” (Romans 8:15).

What’s your “next?” What “best” would you undertake, given the chance? Are you fulfilled within your call or still waiting for your turn? I hope you’ve experienced some longings fulfilled. Whatever your situation, no doubt you’ve experienced frustration, obstacles, maybe even the death of a dream. But as my friend Lisa recently wrote, “Music taught me to keep going despite imperfection, because the beauty beckoned to me so strongly I knew my practice was worth it.”

In God’s great metanarrative, we are invited to collaborate with Him in making our lives epic. Can we flourish in the abundant life Jesus promised? Yes. Psalm 138:8 assures us God will fulfill His purposes for us. Jesus—the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End—completes what He starts, including what He starts in you and me.

In this series on longings, I described how Dinesen’s short-story-made-into-film changed my life. It triggered a longing I was neglecting, if not suppressing, and ignoring (without success).

 Fortunately, the lover of our souls persisted, using this art film to captivate me, portraying the power of longings, and leaving me with a thirst to pursue my creative longings. The film gave me permission. A community was transformed through one woman—Babette, a war refuge. I was a simple worker bee, living comfortably enough, but unable to break out of dead end jobs. How could I create to transform my community? God showed me the path. I only had to agree to take it.

What has God shown you? Is there a longing stirring in you that you need to pursue? Imagine the impact your story might have on your world, if you agree to join Him. The path won’t be easy. Babette’s wasn’t. But our worlds are starved for artistry, beauty, and generosity of spirit, just like Babette’s fictional world. And we can create for transformation.

I suspect our growing longing for heaven will overtake all earthly longings as we age. In the meantime, if we attend to our longings as best we can, we can change our communities. And in heaven, we’ll get the chance to do our best.

 As one character in Babette’s Feast regularly intoned, “Alleluia!”