Heart Health

"A heart at peace gives life to the body."
-Proverbs 14:30a


I like to think our hearts are much like bookshelves.  We store a lot in them.  We pick and choose our emotions according to our moods.  We allow distractions like busyness to keep us from taking time to keep order in our hearts.  We become frustrated easily because we can't find what we are looking for when we need it, but when we do find the one, then we have revived hope.

When I moved to a new school, my new classroom lacked luster and order, much like my heart at times.  I took the blah metal shelves and added color to them by removing all the shelving and sticking on green patterned contact paper on the back of the shelves.  Then, I placed the shelves back in at different heights.  Next, I categorized all my books by genre so that my students would easily find books they might like based on the genre that they're most drawn to.  I put these books into colorful crates that I found at Big Lots and attached laminated genre labels to each crate.  Once I had these shelves complete, I felt more motivated to bring more color and order to the rest of my classroom.  I love how a little bit of organization can give us a whole lot of peace of mind.

Aren't are hearts similar?  Once we bring order back to our hearts and fill them with the luster of God's love, we are revitalized and more motivated to bring color and order to the rest of our lives.  The beauty is, though, that we don't have to do the organizing on our own.  God is there and willing to lend us a hand.  His grace sufficiently brings us to a place of peace.  He takes our messes and makes them into masterpieces.  He tenderly cares for each one of our hearts.  All we have to do is let Him.

Worship

"Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'"

Luke 4:8

The other day I had business in Dallas.  As I was being driven back to the airport, I noticed there were police in their cars stationed in every driveway and road for about a mile to the airport.  Then, once I checked-in, I discovered that my flight was delayed as well as every flight trying to leave within the hour.  I walked to my gate and sat down bewildered because many people were standing all along the windows.  After a few moments, excitement filled the gate area, and more people briskly walked toward the windows while reaching in their pockets and purses to pull out their phones.  My gaze followed them to the windows, and there landed the plane of the President of the United States with the President on board.  Ah!  Everything made sense.

What amazed me by all of the hubbub over the President was the thought of worship that entered my mind.  What an odd thought to have!  But I couldn't help noticing how people prepared the way for the president, so I thought about if I did that for God when it came to worship.  Do I block all the pathways that would give access to dangerous distractions?  Do I take time to stop all the traffic that may interfere with my worship?  Do I honor God with holy reverence?  Do I excitedly rush to see a glimpse of God?

I can't say yes to all of these questions, but I can say I have a whole new outlook on how I must honor my Lord when it comes to desiring His presence in my worship.  We have it in us to prepare a way to honor God.  May He continue to bring us ever in awe of His glory.