Seeking....

I think that through out life we are all seeking.  Seeking  safety, seeking love and affection, and seeking a place where we know we belong. Maslow's Hierarchy of needs for the longest time best described, in my humble opinion, the process that we participate in through life. Sometimes I feel safe, sometimes, I feel loved, and in fact during the first part of my twenties, I mostly just wanted to make sure that my basic needs were met. However I think that there has be an interesting change to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. An Arizona State University Social Psychology Professor, Douglas Kenrick,  just recently published a paper revising Maslow's hierarchy of needs. From the image, I think they chose to view it from the point of view of evolution, but I think that it can also be looked at from the point of view of being made in the image of God.

http://asunews.asu.edu/20100819_maslowspyramid

Here is why: I have heard from friends over and over again after the birth of a baby, that understanding God and His gift of salvation becomes much clearer. The sacrifice, the love of humanity that must be involved, and how painful an experience it is to see a child suffer. In fact I always think of the story of Enoch "Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away". Genesis 5:24

A devotional piece written by Ellen. G. White describes this far better than I. 

"But after the birth of his first son Enoch reached a higher experience; he was drawn into a closer relationship with God. He realized more fully his own obligations and responsibility as a son of God. And as he saw the child's love for its father, its simple trust in his protection; as he felt the deep, yearning tenderness of his own heart for that first-born son, he learned a precious lesson of the wonderful love of God to men in the gift of His Son and the confidence which the children of God may repose in their heavenly Father." Ellen G. White.

 As I work with children every day, and I observe the developmental process, I see little tiny people, driven to develop. And in their social-emotional development, they are driven to be like Mom and Dad, the two people in the world that they adore. In our spiritual development, I believe that we are driven to be like our Creator. That is why for those who long for marriage, and long for a family, I think it is a God given longing. Because it is part of the process of how we become more like Him.