Harden Not Your Hearts

*Warning the post ahead is not only FOREVER long it is also NOT for the faint of heart. But, this is what I have been thinking about a lot these days so hang with me here as I process this out with YOU beloved reader. When is the last time you cried, I mean really cried about something that moved you? For me, it's not hard to remember because I'm somewhat of a cry baby.  But, I'm not talking about crying over something like a good, happy ending of a movie. Or a sappy commercial. NO, I'm talking about the poverty in the world, the thousands of children who don't have parents to love them and care for them, or maybe the children who do have parents, but those parents are broken and abusive. I'm talking about the broken marriages, the broken politicians, the broken pastors, the broken teens, THE broken. It's  the stuff we see on the news every night. Well, YOU see on the news, I don't watch the news for this very reason, It makes me cry.  I've always wondered what it would be like if the anchorman or woman would read the news with the emotions of a relative to the person they are reporting about? With a heart that wasn't hard? Human trafficking, War,  Elder abuse, all the injustices of this world. These are not topics that any of us like to think about. In fact if you are like me you avoid topics like this with every ounce of your being, you run the other way from topics like this. I run because, I feel helpless. I feel overwhelmed. I feel like I wish I could adopt every beautiful orphan child, but My Giant said No! *Sidenote- Whenever I think of all the world and humanity in it's darkest state, I remember in the movie The 5th Element when the Alien lady sees' all the worlds devastation like war, and terrorism and she thinks twice about saving the world that she has come to save.  There's a good analogy there with the whole "Savior of the world" thing. Put a pin in that thought we will come back to that. Have you seen The 5th Element? It's one of our favorites around here. Good movie, but that's a side note there. A brief intermission before we get  Back to the heavy.

  Recently, I have been surrounded with a lot of heavy news from friends and family. It's hard not to feel so much sadness when I talk to these beloved people in my life. I can very easily become consumed by the sadness, but I have to remember that's not where I should stay.  Speaking of staying,   I know this is a heavy topic. I know it's not happy. I know you want to skip this blog right about now and go to another happy place, but wait. I promise a happy ending and even a song at the end of this story. Let me tell you that I know the easy route to take when you read and hear of tragedies is to either ignore, or feel there is nothing we can do to help so we harden our hearts. We don't realize this is what is occurring.  We are unaware that over time when we stop watching the news, when we stop hearing the out cries of injustices we are hardening our hearts. I'm guilty of this a thousand times over. And then before you know it, it's been a really, really long time since you have wept over something other than that spilt milk. Your probably thinking about now, well what are you getting at Noël? Should I turn on the news and immerse myself with every sad story that there is out there? Should I become a social activist? Crisis counselor? Should I go find every homeless person I can and invite them to live with me? Should I drop everything and fly to Africa and bring home some beautiful babes as my homecoming present? And to that I say NO BIG DUMBY!  No I would never call you dumb my beloved reader, but NO don't do that.  I mean unless that's what you feel prompted to do after reading my silly blog. To be quite honest, I'm not really sure what I'm trying to get at here. Except maybe, that even I need to remember that it's not doing nothing when we pray. Jesus Heal. There is a NAME we can call when we need help. Jesus Heal. It's not doing nothing when we try to help where there is an outstretched arm. Jesus Heal. It's not doing nothing when you do what you can when you can. Jesus Heal. There is a NAME that is above all names, it's better than calling 911 in an emergency. Jesus Heal. It's not doing nothing to keep a soft heart, and there is only one name I know that can keep this heart from hardening. Jesus Heal.   This is what I read today; "Blessed(happy fortunate and to be envied) is the man who reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord at all times(regardless of circumstances), but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity." Proverbs 28:14
And then I read this: "In his hands are the deep places of the earth; the heights and the strength of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it; and his hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.  Today if you hear his voice Harden not your hearts" Psalm 95:7-8
That last sentence reminds me of my Gram or "Grandma THE Great" is what my kids called her before she went home to be with Jesus. Yes, she loved Jesus and she would say(with a beautiful East Coast accent) all the time, "Today if you hear his voice harden not your hearts." But, that whole scripture reminds me of the age old childhood song, "He's Got the Whole World In His Hands" and that makes me feel better. Like I don't have to solve all the worlds problems, but I can listen for HIS voice, ask HIM to keep my heart soft,  and pray.  Jesus Heal. I want to have a soft heart for when I hear of tragedies, of very hard things that my friends and family are going through, so I can weep with them. I want to share in the joys AND the sorrows. His Great Name is what keeps this heart soft.