Safeguard your Heart

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Proverbs 4:23 

Many things are hard even during good times. The pandemic certainly has pushed all of us to the limit; the horrors we see of homes and families in the Ukraine and worry that things will continue to escalate to include more countries; many have the “normal” challenges with family, health, finances, work.  So sometimes things can "get to us."

The reflection below (author unknown) provides some really good perspective as we all try to stay balanced, positive and optimistic during stressful times. 

You are holding a cup of coffee when someone comes along and bumps into you or shakes your arm, making you spill your coffee everywhere.

Why did you spill the coffee?

"Because someone bumped into me!!!"

Wrong answer.

You spilled the coffee because there was coffee in your cup.

Had there been tea, you would have spilled tea.

Whatever is inside the cup is what will spill out.

Therefore, when life comes along and shakes you (which WILL happen), whatever is inside you will come out. It's easy to fake it until you get rattled.

So we have to ask ourselves … "what's in my cup?"

When life gets tough, what spills over?

Joy, gratefulness, peace and humility?

Anger, bitterness, harsh words and reactions?

Life provides the cup, WE choose how to fill it.

Solomon tells us to “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”

But how do we take care of our hearts, or, as Scripture says, take it into custody? The Message says it this way: “Keep vigilant watch over your heart. That’s where life starts.”  And Matthew 5: 37 says “Let your yes be yes and your no be no.” This may be a good time to limit our intake of the news, of social media, of time with people who weigh us down, and fill our thoughts with Scripture, with love for people, and the love of God.   

Prayer: Dear Lord, these days we all face many challenges. And sometimes they can be really overwhelming. While I need to be aware of what’s going on in the world, please help me to balance this and to protect my heart from the things that drag me down, by putting some safeguards around my heart so I can live the life you formed me for.  Amen

Lori Snyder-Sloan