courtesy of www.thetravelingjournal.com
Life has a funny way of getting ahead of you sometimes. It barrels on like a train and you rush to keep up with it. Once you finally jump onto a car, you find yourself totally exhausted and needing to catch your breath. That is what my past few months have been like (or however long since I’ve written). Now that my next quarter of school has begun, I feel myself getting into the rhythm of life again.
That being said, I missed writing so much! God did some amazing things in my life over the last year, and I am excited for all He has planned for this year.
As I was thinking of last year and praying over this year, God kept guiding me to one passage in the book I was currently studying. In 2 Corinthians 6:13 Paul is speaking to the Corinthians telling them that he has opened his heart wide to them, loving them despite their sinful actions, and he asks them to do the same for him and the rest of the believers; he says “open wide your hearts also”.
This little sentence, nothing more than a blip on the radar, really resonated with me. Is my heart open wide? To some it is. When I see a child, any child, my heart wants to nurture, help, comfort, play, and love. But what about when I see a tough looking teenager loitering outside the grocery store? What about the know-it-all classmate? Is my heart open to the elderly homeless man on the side of the freeway off ramp? I know my heart locks up when I’m around someone who has hurt me in the past. Even close friends. Sometimes I feel my heart closing because I’m grieved by what they have or haven’t done and I just don’t want to deal with it.
I’ve realized that my heart is automatically closed to a lot of people for a lot of reasons.
God, today, asks me to open my heart to a world of people and possibility. He has a lot of things for me to do, and I will need a wide open heart to do them effectively.
How to expand my heart?
Honestly, that is something I am still working through, but I think it comes down to spending time with Him first. My own resources of love only go so far before they are completely exhausted. God’s love filling my own heart will keep me from expecting anything in return from those I open my heart to. God’s protection and filling will keep me from being afraid of getting hurt by those I love.
As I look to the horizon of this year, I know it is going to be special- really special. I don’t know why, but God does. There are going to be changes, hard and good. I will look out to the distance from the tops of mountains of triumph and love. I will also cry out from pits of despair and hurt. I know these are in the future, but I am excited for both of them because they were planned for me by my faithful Savior.
I thank God in advance for everything He has planned for me this year, and I pray I have the courage to follow Him and trust Him to no end. I pray the same thing for you, my friends and I wish you a blessed 2012. Widen your hearts in preparation for all the people and places the Lord has planned for you to touch and be touched by.
