Heart – Under Construction

Heart – Under Construction

You change your life by changing your heart. – Max Lucado

The heart is a pretty complicated thing. For some years now I have been enthusiastically studying the heart and tying physical attributes to spiritual effects in regards to heart dispositions. I have been looking into heart and brain interactions, how our hearts affect the people around us and considering the intentions of the heart’s impact on real life occurrences. There is no doubt in my mind whether it is all connected. Our hearts drive and move so much but we often overlook the importance. 

Proverbs 4:23 says: Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. I believe this scripture always rings true. Even seemingly small things are driven by both conscious and sub-conscious heart stances. I feel it is imperative to constantly build/rebuild, check, cultivate our hearts but even more so after occurrences often considered heartbreaking. 

Initially I was going to call this "Heart - Closed for Construction" but after thinking through the process I realized that a heart that is closed is not beneficial to anyone, even during difficult and painful times. I feel that if my heart is closed while additional hurt cannot get in, neither can any healing or genuine love. If I close my heart I cannot be my true self, I cannot give anything from it and I know that my strength is in giving, from my heart, to those around me. So closed is not an option, just under construction.

I watched a Bishop T.D. Jakes’ sermon titled "My Heart Attacks" and it spoke to me so loudly that I will forever be grateful for its impact. He talks in great detail about people that live from the heart and how we often have to go through the healing process because we open our hearts all the time. It is an automatic response to interaction, especially with people we love. Open, but vulnerable, sometimes bleeding heart. Because the people we deal with are human, everyone has the potential to hurt us, intentionally and unintentionally.  Everyone, not only the selfish and/or manipulative people but anyone we open ourselves to. So what can I do to guard my heart and not do a disservice to the people that need me by closing it? How do I keep my heart protected without locking people out?

I started to think about the construction site I was the Office Manager on in 1995. On a construction site only certain areas would be closed off at certain times, those were the times when it was too dangerous to let people roam around. WOW! The danger zones. The project site had many areas, different phases of work, some areas sectioned off, under-cover, being worked on by hand selected qualified and credentialed workers. Intense work going on in some areas, other areas have mild cosmetic work going on. Making the parallels I see that my heart has some serious hard hat areas going on right now.  I resigned from being overly emotionally about the fact that construction is necessary so that I can logically section off the danger zones and keep people away from them while I prayerfully work on them.

My heart is a construction site right now, God is the General Contractor. We are surveying the entire area, testing things, looking at the natural resources to see what is strong enough to remain.  We are putting together the scope of work, kicking untrustworthy people off the project site. This is so awesome. The adage says "we are a work in progress" but this has opened it up for me.

My focus and my strongest, most empowering thoughts are of the completed work. The blueprint and sculpture of my new, healed, vibrant, loving and thriving heart is glorious! I am so excited about getting to the finished product. So like on a project site I want to be able to identify and keep all the functioning points active while working diligently. I realize that the functioning and open for business parts of my heart are best when I am:

1. Active – pouring out of my self and into others, activated in my gifts and purpose.
2. Giving of myself – Words and deeds, encouraging, praying for my loved ones.
3. Expressing genuine love – not for response or reply, just giving it, no motives.
4. Creating – Working my gifts, writing, cooking, sewing, whatever.
5. Listening to beautiful music
6. Reading – Imagination roaming free
7. Laughing

So while I am working hard, especially when alone and retrospective, I am focused on the beauty of my healed heart with no more yellow construction tape. Just a big, purple, mushy, syrupy sweet heart, giving genuine, unconditional love, sowing the right words and deeds at the most appropriate time, in tune with God and God’s perfect will. *happy sigh* The pain of this construction process will not overwhelm me, I will just stay on task and get ‘er done!