To the Left of the Cabbage Patch

Here's the thing that made me really sad today. It's a story about women who buy very lifelike dolls and treat them as real babies, talking to them, putting them in car seats, etc. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26970782

One of the ladies told Matt Lauer, "It fills a spot in your heart." And this is the root of where my sadness lies. I'm not saying these women are pathetic or sad. What makes me sad is that there's a deep felt need in their lives, and that they're going about filling it in a way that's certain to lead to disappointment. There's a spot in their hearts that for whatever reason wasn't filled, and they're finding it filled, at least for now, by something that isn't real. I can't imagine the pain or regret or whatever that's behind each story, but there is something inside me that wishes I could sit down with them, talk about my own struggle to find fulfillment in things that aren't real, and give them a huge hug. Not that my hug would fill the void, but I so wish they could know that someone loves and cares about them, and more importantly that there is a God who loves and cares about them as well.

We all have our dolls, those things we seek to fill our spots. Maybe it's money, or a job, or an older man/woman in a relationship. Maybe it's a younger man/woman in a relationship. Maybe it's public service, but it's good for me to see stories like this and be reminded that really, all those things are just like plastic dolls. They aren't real, and they aren't ultimately going to fill the spot in my heart.