The Heart

I went back to the pond awhile back, the one you see above, and it is changing because of new land owners; the trees are coming down and the paths are disappearing.  But my gift from the Lord, this heart, is still there.  I had to go touch it once more, smiling, remembering the first time I saw it. . .

From my book, Ponderings From the Pond. . .

My husband Keith and I went walking around the pond one beautiful fall afternoon, and I was feeling particularly low that day. Silently, I asked for some encouragement.

Keith spotted something on a tree and called me over to see it. It was a place where the bark had fallen off and left the shape of a heart. I smiled and said a silent “thank you”. I saw this as God’s encouragement to me saying “I am here, I know what you’re going through, I care, and I love you. I thought of the verse John 14:1 that says, ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled…trust in me. Yes Father, I do trust in you. He is so good! He meets you wherever you are, even out by a pond.

As a twelve year old girl, I invited Jesus into my heart. If I had not had the Lord there and built that relationship over the years, I might have missed the message in the tree that day. As Christians, our eyes are opened up to so much more and our spirits ready to hear much more than if they were closed. I don’t want to miss anything the Lord has for me and I don’t want anyone else to miss their “heart messages”. 

That’s why it is so important to share the love of Jesus with everyone we come in contact with. Whether it is sharing the gospel with them, or just giving them a genuine smile and a hug, let’s not let those “heart moments” go away without participating in them. 

Yes, Jesus lives in my heart. Does He live in yours? If so, say a silent “thank you” right now. I love to thank Him all the time.  If not, ponder for a moment. Would you like to have a new heart and spirit? If so, issue that invitation to Him to come into your heart right now. You will never be sorry! Then be on the look-out for your “heart messages”.

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you…

Ezekiel 36:26

Thank you Lord!