Hi friends! I preface what I'm about to say with one request -- please don't judge me... I am currently addicted to watching Oprah's final season. I Tivo every episode, and watch as many as I can in my free time. I mean did you see her Favorite Things episodes? Yes, there were two of them, and they were equally fantastic. There's nothing quite as hilarious as watching people go absolutely bonkers over free brownie pans -- literally, brownie pans. Anywho, I got a glimpse of yesterday's episode with Keith Urban, and he was talking about a moment when he knew he was in love with his wife. He had asked her how her heart was, and her response was, "Open." What a concept in our day and age. To have a heart completely open to whatever comes at it. How freeing, exciting, and petrifying all at the same time. To live with an open heart means that it's exposed for those you love to nurture, cherish, or... yes, to break.
I turned off Oprah after watching only a few minutes, and was on my way to high school bible study. Flash forward to two hours later when I was driving home, my eyes welling up, and I realized I'm the luckiest girl in the world. My job forces me to have an open heart, all the time. And, while my eyes were tearing up because my heart broke for a high school friend, I praised God because the ability to travel to the depths of sadness is only possible if you've reached pinnacles of love and joy. I was sad for a dear friend because I love her so dearly and hated to see her hurting. To feel is to be alive, and my job makes me feel alive, and I think that's somewhat rare in the professional world (if you can call my job professional :P). As someone who guards her heart and emotions pretty securely, I count it as one more blessing that the Lord leaves no room for that in leading ministry.
So here's my challenge, for you and for me -- find those people who make life worth living and come to them with an open heart. Part of loving as Christ calls us to love is allowing others the blessing of loving us in return. Sometimes your heart will break alongside those you love, but I promise it will be worth it.
I'll leave you with a great DL Moody quote I came across not too long ago: "It speaks in Galatians about love, the fruit of the Spirit being love, joy, peace, gentleness, long suffering, meekness and temperance. The way this writer has put it -- and I think it is very beautiful -- is that joy is love exultant, peace is love in repose, and long suffering is love enduring. It is all love, you see, a gentleness is love in society, and goodness is love in action, and faith is love on the battlefield, and meekness is love at school, and temperance is love in training."
