My soul is like an empty house and my heart, a furnace.
"...if we love one another, God abides in us. And his love is perfect in us." -1 John 4:12
After a much needed get-away at my parents' over Christmas, we returned to our big, old, drafty home on the other side of the state to find a very, very cold house. It isn't fun when you come in from below zero temperatures and it is only in the 40's inside. So many things are running through your head. Is the furnace broken? What will this cost? What will it take to fix it? Will it cause damage to the house?
Coming up from the basement, my husband confirmed what we already knew, the furnace wasn't working. The only hope was that we could just light the pilot-that something had caused it to go out, and all we needed to do was start a flame.
A trip to the store for a lighter, ten minutes of trying, waiting, and trying again, and success...the flame took and the furnace was back in business.
Over the course of my life, my heart has become so much like that furnace and maybe yours has too.
Experiences, over time can cause the pilot to go out and our hearts turn cold. So many things can put out the fire...broken relationships, death, injustice, fear, financial hardship, sickness, loss...this world is full of cold disappointment. Then it begins to spread around us to those people in our paths and the things we do.
I don't know if you've ever found yourself with a cold heart, but I have. And then so many things go through my head...Is it broken? What will it cost me? Can I fix it? Will it forever damage me?
Even though I'm a preacher's daughter (and of an amazing preacher I might add), I used to think that I was good in my soul and knew what I believed so it didn't matter if I went to church on a regular basis or not. I figured I could teach my children everything they needed and that all would work out in the end.
What I learned from the pilot going out on my heart, was the only answer to my questions was Jesus.
My first grade son came home from school a couple months ago and mentioned that he had talked to a friend about having Jesus in his heart. How awesome, I thought! He then said that his friend asked Jesus into his heart and then told him he felt all warm inside....music to a mama's ears.
But isn't that the truth? He is the source of warmth for the heart and, therefore, the soul. I needed to get to a church and light the pilot. I needed to surround myself with the warmth of people whose pilots were already lit, whose hearts were full of warmth and who then were themselves sources of warmth for those around them. I needed to thaw the cold heart within me so I could be sure to light the fire for the hearts around me who needed me.
It didn't take long at all to find people with these hearts, people who changed mine. Those loving hearts along with the message of Jesus, lit my pilot and warmed my soul.
We have a choice to remain cold and independent, frozen from life's disappointments or to light the fire within our hearts with the love and compassion of a savior...and pass the flame, not the cold, to those around us.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Are you ready for Christmas?
"She wrapped him in clothes and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." -Luke 2:7
"Are you ready for Christmas, yet?" I hear the question everywhere I go.
Yesterday was decorating day at our house. The tree is up, has water, and it isn't falling. The lights twinkle and the ornaments are all hung and out of the reach of little hands. The angel is on top. Scout the Elf has been on the move in the house for a week and the kids' Christmas lists have been made. The Christmas dinner menu has been chosen, and shopping trips have been planned. Cards have been ordered.
With Manheim Steamroller blasting from the CD player, today is cookie baking day. This is no small task with four kids under the age of 9, (it's a magic trick how quickly dough disappears without me noticing) but the cookies are out of the oven and not burnt to a crisp. I am exhausted, but all seems to be falling into place.
The reality is the phrase "hustle and bustle" isn't just a saying, it is the way of the land in most households. We scramble to prepare for the holiday. Whether you are the most organized person in the history of mankind or the least organized person (like me), chances are you have an idea of what Christmas will look like for you and your household. You will be prepared when the 25th comes around.
Or will you?
We spend so much time and energy getting ready for Christmas, but how much time do we spend getting ready for Christ?
Every morning for the last four days, my daughter, Sofie, has awoke and shouted, "It's Christmas Eve!" only to be disappointed with the daily, "Not yet," from Mommy or Daddy. She is excited. But do you know what she's excited for the most? Jesus' birthday.
Don't get me wrong, I love the joy of the season. I treasure the days with family, the thrill and excitement of present giving, the classic movies and, dare I say, mistletoe moments...I am right there with the rest of the world. But this year, as I prepare for the holiday I love, I am making sure that first I prepare my heart.
Like Sofie, I am ready for the celebration of a birth...a birth that saves me every single day of my life from myself.
What do you want for Christmas this year? What if I said that you could have the gift of comfort when you feel sad, the gift of strength when you are weak? Of love when you are lonely, or support when you are scared? A light in the dark and peace for your stress. Life when you are dead.
You would say, "I'll take it!" And I would say, "Accept it, it is already yours for the taking."
Have you prepared your heart for that?
Make room in your life, this Christmas, for the gift the birth of Jesus gave you. Talk to the Giver, receive the gift for the first time or again and again, be thankful, be faithful, be grateful...and prepare your heart for the birthday celebration of the baby that gives you life when you are dead. Make room in your inn, and not the stable. Prepare your heart.
"Are you ready for Christmas, yet?" I hear the question everywhere I go.
Yesterday was decorating day at our house. The tree is up, has water, and it isn't falling. The lights twinkle and the ornaments are all hung and out of the reach of little hands. The angel is on top. Scout the Elf has been on the move in the house for a week and the kids' Christmas lists have been made. The Christmas dinner menu has been chosen, and shopping trips have been planned. Cards have been ordered.
With Manheim Steamroller blasting from the CD player, today is cookie baking day. This is no small task with four kids under the age of 9, (it's a magic trick how quickly dough disappears without me noticing) but the cookies are out of the oven and not burnt to a crisp. I am exhausted, but all seems to be falling into place.
The reality is the phrase "hustle and bustle" isn't just a saying, it is the way of the land in most households. We scramble to prepare for the holiday. Whether you are the most organized person in the history of mankind or the least organized person (like me), chances are you have an idea of what Christmas will look like for you and your household. You will be prepared when the 25th comes around.
Or will you?
We spend so much time and energy getting ready for Christmas, but how much time do we spend getting ready for Christ?
Every morning for the last four days, my daughter, Sofie, has awoke and shouted, "It's Christmas Eve!" only to be disappointed with the daily, "Not yet," from Mommy or Daddy. She is excited. But do you know what she's excited for the most? Jesus' birthday.
Don't get me wrong, I love the joy of the season. I treasure the days with family, the thrill and excitement of present giving, the classic movies and, dare I say, mistletoe moments...I am right there with the rest of the world. But this year, as I prepare for the holiday I love, I am making sure that first I prepare my heart.
Like Sofie, I am ready for the celebration of a birth...a birth that saves me every single day of my life from myself.
What do you want for Christmas this year? What if I said that you could have the gift of comfort when you feel sad, the gift of strength when you are weak? Of love when you are lonely, or support when you are scared? A light in the dark and peace for your stress. Life when you are dead.
You would say, "I'll take it!" And I would say, "Accept it, it is already yours for the taking."
Have you prepared your heart for that?
Make room in your life, this Christmas, for the gift the birth of Jesus gave you. Talk to the Giver, receive the gift for the first time or again and again, be thankful, be faithful, be grateful...and prepare your heart for the birthday celebration of the baby that gives you life when you are dead. Make room in your inn, and not the stable. Prepare your heart.
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