Home is where the heart is...who is living in yours?

When I remarried almost three years ago, I had the bright idea to rent out my home. The first tenants were complete strangers; so, perhaps not a complete surprise that they left within a few months—short on rent and long on damages. The next occupant seemed a perfect fit. And for almost a year my home appeared to be well-maintained and the rent was on time. I relaxed. Everything looked great from the outside. But, everything hidden eventually comes to light.

When I lived in my little yellow house—the first home I had ever owned—I loved to mow the grass. I looked at it as the perfect opportunity to burn some calories—and reflect.  So, this past weekend I found myself mowing and mulling at my old house. Back and forth across the accumulation of crabgrass and clover, I pushed the mower and recalled how adorable and comfortable my home once was. The grass well-maintained. The backyard a calm and peaceful place to sit and read (except for the barking of the neighbors dogs). Inside, each room was colorful and inviting. Until I allowed other people to take up residence.

Then, over the dull roar of the lawnmower—God.
Gently asking me if I cared as much about the state of my heart as I did about a home.

Isn’t your heart My home? Will you take greater care in deciding who you let into your heart—My home—than you did this house? 

God, you got me.
I asked Jesus into my heart. And Your Holy Spirit lives in me.  You know me. You love me better than anyone. Am I paying as much attention as I should to the condition of Your home?

Mowing right along, I realized that I am now paying the price—financial and emotional—for my inattention to the condition of my home and the character of the tenants who lived there. To make things right, to maintain the value of my property, I will make repairs. But, I will not value a house above the state of my heart.

I have often rented or sublet my heart quite cheaply, with some pretty messy results. But God. BUT GOD!
The God who loves me, who lives in my heart—how many times has He fixed my mess?  Time and again, He has repaired my damaged heart. He has brought healing—made me whole.

God is not an absent landlord. His son paid the price for my heart—and yours—at Calvary. Crazy, right? He owns my heart, yet He enters in only when invited. As I trust in Him, He works to make my heart, His home, larger and more beautiful than I could ever imagine.

Who is living in your heart?

"...Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,” (Ephesians 3:17 - 19, NLT)

                                                                                                     

What the caterpillar thought

or did she?

This dying to self, becoming something new - this is a bit of work!, thought the caterpillar. How many times had she shed her skin as she grew? Different colors, different sizes. Still, she knew she was not yet what she was meant to be.

So, here she was, tucked away on the underside of a leaf, trying something new. Something...life-changing. Creating this cocoon had certainly been hard work. To what end? She was not sure, but she had faith that she would be better than before.

Encased in her silken world, she felt safe, at peace. Yet, she was also full of excitement and anticipation. She felt something shifting and changing inside.She imagined reentering the world as a beautiful and wise butterfly. Loved and adored by all. No longer a creeping caterpillar.
Soon, I will be free. Different.
 
Even so, that demon of doubt sometimes plagued her as she lay nestled inside her protective cocoon.

This is taking so long! Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I won't be more than what I have always been....

But just when the caterpillar thought that her life might never change, she emerged from her cocoon. A  beautiful new...

moth?


What? Wait, that isn’t how the story is supposed to go!






Well, let's face it people. Some stories don't turn out the way you expect. Rest assured though, God has written our stories exactly as they should be. Transformation does not happen overnight - true story! Metamorphosis takes place after we've made some outward changes, while God changes up the inside. It happens when we allow ourselves to be covered and protected—over time. And when the time is right, we will be new creatures. Moth or butterfly, it matters not. Butterflies may be admired for their beauty, but moths create silken beauty.  Both are valued, loved, and prized for the qualities instilled by the Creator.


Over the past few years, I have committed to doing life with others in my church. I recently realized that it has been within the cocoon of my small group(s) that my life has changed. Transformation does not take place in isolation! It is within the cocoon of fellowship, a connection with life-giving friends and mentors that lives change.


Choose to let your life be wrapped up and covered with the prayers, encouragement, laughter, and accountability of life-giving friends. Over time, the old will pass away; you will be transformed.

Once I was a caterpillar, trying to change my life by changing my skin. Changing what the world saw in me. I wanted to be a beautiful butterfly, adored and accepted. I slipped from one sinful skin to the next—still I was but a caterpillar. Who am I now? The world will judge that according to its standards, but I do know that it doesn't really matter what I look like. "For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel: 17:7, ESV).





The Luna Moth,
a beauty in its own right.
For more on moths and butterflies... 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold,the new has come - 2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV

Paper Hearts

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Everywhere you go....

But, it’s February, you say. 

Yes. And today is Valentine’s Eve. Men congregate at various roadside stands, supermarkets or chain stores searching for the least-wilted bouquet of flowers. The good chocolates—the ones with the map on the inside—are probably gone by now. And the cards—let’s talk about the cards!

According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year! Second only to Christmas. Ladies, you purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines (www.history.com, 2009)

Paper hearts. Pretty colors, be-ribboned, bedazzled with glitter, declaring that you are special and beloved. You are the one. You are favored. You are loved. 

How can something so flimsy and disposable hold such power over us? Let’s think back to this day of love in elementary school. Were you the girl (or boy) whose paper bag was stuffed to the brim with valentines cards? Or maybe your paper bag was like a potato chip bag—mostly stuffed with air. Almost empty. 

Certainly, we gain a better understanding of love as we grow older—right? I’ll be honest. I didn’t. I believed what was written on every love card I was dealt and I was always left feeling hurt or disappointed. Empty. 

The beauty of emptiness is that there is then, finally, room for truth to seep in. To fill up. I traded my empty heart for a new one. And the new one is not paper-thin. It is soft and large. It is sensitive to the Holy Spirit—to the way in which God loves me and would have me love others. Just as He promised.

I'm going to give you a new heart, and I'm going to give you a new spirit within all of your deepest parts. I’ll remove that rock-hard heart of yours and replace it with one that’s sensitive to me (Ezekiel 36:26, ISV).

If on this Valentine’s Day you find yourself without a human hand to hold, a special person with whom to exchange paper hearts, know this—the greatest love is waiting for you. God loves each of us, not because we are lovable, but because He is love (Lewis, C.S.). Written within God’s valentine to us—His Word—we find that love is not found in a box of chocolates, a bouquet of roses, or a fancy meal. It looks nothing like the commercials:

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.  It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance (1 Corinthians 13:4-7, NLT).

The Space Between

So, here we are. It is the middle of January. For many of us, the excitement and joy of the Christmas holiday may have faded. The peace that came with our acknowledgement of the reason for the season—the gift of Jesus —may not sit so securely within your heart right now.  So, what happened between December and January?

The Christmas tree, the wreaths from the windows, the tinsel and pretty paper have been carted to the burn pile or packed away in the attic. The outward signs of the joyous season are gone.  The meats and sweets, the time of gathering with friends and family has been supplanted by resolution-planning, gym-joining, and lists of what not to do in this new year. We return to work and school and think about the next holiday that will allow us to take time out of work and school. 

We are in the space between what was and what is to come.

The space between what's wrong and right

Is where you'll find me hiding, waiting for you

The space between your heart and mine

Is the space we’ll fill with time.

I love The Dave Matthews Band (DMB),  and I especially love their song The Space Between.  As I read the lyrics, I cannot help but apply the essence of the love-relationship song to my relationship with God. God is always waiting for me. I cannot squeeze Him into any corner, nor will He ever not have time for me. Yet, like many of you, I often find there is a feeling of emptiness at this time of year. Why is that and how do I fill it? How do I fill the time?

I think the secret is very simple. Gratitude. 

Remember in November when we posted on Facebook the things for which we were grateful? (And we intended to do that every day of the year, not just around the Thanksgiving holiday!) And the day after Thanksgiving kicked off the Christmas season. Even with the stress of holiday shopping, we were on a roll, a high. Do you remember the feeling of gratitude that enveloped us during that time of giving and receiving? The warmth of kindness we felt as we helped those in need? The joy that came with worshipping our saviour with songs, prayers, and praise? 

That season, those feelings, are not controlled by the calendar. The season can be eternal. Fill the space in your heart with gratitude to God and you will begin to look at your life with awe, renewed hope, and patience. The new year will blush pink with promise, not the blueish hue of sadness. Give thanks for the ordinary and the extraordinary. 

The quiet dusting of winter dew, untouched in early morning light. 

The silent, enormous message of love conveyed in the goodbye wave of an elderly parent.

Arms wrapped around tight, the healing hug.

Farmhouses, held together by old paint and a firm foundation, still standing to testify to life and love.

God’s Word. The promise that there is no empty space between you and Him.  

 Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.

 - John Milton