Invariably, the turn of the year highlights human longing. What are New Year's resolutions except attempts to grab hold of some fulfillment, to satisfy our longings for slimmer frames and fatter wallets and deeper loves. These pursuits are not evil. But they also are not the highest good that our longings offer us. There are far weightier jewels to be found in the throes of longing than in the quenching of it. In truth, our longings are words from our Maker. They signal to us that this broken world is not as it should be, that we were not made to make our home amid ashes. They point us to hope beyond what we can see, to imagine relief that is not here to grasp. So pursue fitness and prosperity and romance, yes! But, more importantly, peer through those tattered goods to glimpse a new home rising from the ashes, and a Holy One bidding us come.