"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."
Travel trailers. We live in one. Though I do love it and wouldn't trade it for a "normal house", I found myself grumbling the other day about how often I have to clean up. Things get messy soooo quickly. Was it like this in our regular house? Yes and no. At least in a regular house we had a junk drawer, bedrooms where we could shove unfolded laundry or baskets into when company came over, large closets and a garage to hold more stuff. In a trailer, none of these things exist. (although, I do try. We have a basket in our room dedicated to hold miscellaneous items and clothes we intend to put away. :)
Our trailer IS a much smaller space to clean, so I'm very grateful for that. Normally though, your little house on wheels needs to be kept up and maintained daily and guarded against evil things like little plastic toys, too much clothing, and unnecessary trinkets, which do have a habit of creeping in. There just isn't room for extra stuff. If we want to be able to walk, function, and not trip over stuff, simplifying is key.
The heart is like that, too.
Yup, the heart is like a trailer. ;) It cannot be neglected, and what goes into it must be guarded with a tenacity.
What do we need to guard our hearts from, exactly???
*greed (Luke12:15)
*treachery (Mal.2:15)
*hypocrisy (Luke 12:1)
*unfaithfulness (Mal.2:16)
*idolatry (Duet.4:23)
*anger (Psalm 37:8)
*unforgiveness (Luke 17:3)
*stinginess (Luke 12:15)
...to name a few.
Some of these heart-things aren't always obvious to us. They are often subtle and we can justify them within ourselves using pseudo-definitions or excuses that don't allow us to feel guilt. However, the "clutter" that they bring seems to multiply overnight (much like my laundry pile). It always begins with just a little something, and comes in seemingly harmless forms. A feeling. A thought. True or untrue, keep that thought or feeling going and don't nip it in the bud with prayer? You end up with a recipe for any of the above said things.
Recently we were over at the Barnes' house, listening to a teaching by Brad Scott, and he was dissecting the Hebrew word for "Fruit", which is "Pri" (pr-ee). When the Bible talks about fruit, it is often referring to the actions of people. You have good fruit (good actions) and bad fruit (bad actions).
The letters making up this word "fruit" are פ (Pey), ר (Resh) , and י (Yod). פרי
פ= Mouth (words)
ר= Head (thoughts)
י= Hand (Action)
Look at the positioning of these letters. פרי Which one is in the middle, or the heart of the word? The Resh, right? The head. What extends from the head on either side? Words and Actions.
I love what this word picture is telling us. What we think about (Resh) we will talk about (Pey), and do (Yod). Here are some examples that I observe. If we are constantly concerned about how others view us (Resh), we might find ourselves defending ourselves (Pey), and then stressing ourselves and our loved ones out by doing all things necessary to maintain that appearance (Yod). If we have consistent angry thoughts about another person who we think has wronged us (Resh), we will at some point be unable to contain our thoughts and speak about it (Pey), and we may act on it in an unloving manner (Yod). If we are constantly meditating on self- loathing thoughts (Resh), our words will reflect our lack of self-esteem (Pey) and what we do (become withdrawn, or flamboyant & attention-seeking) will reveal it.
Those are examples are from my own life (past and present)....but every one has their own "Resh". What's in your Resh (noggin)? My wonderful husband helps me sort out my Resh...often. ;)
We recently celebrated the Biblical holiday called Shavu'ot (also known as Pentecost). There are 50 days in between Passover and Shavu'ot, and we count those days. Last year we used a little chart like this to help us count the days and weeks. We made it fun and decided to memorize Psalm 119 verses 1-50...one verse each day. I think we only made it to 40-something.
Anyway, this year we knew we wouldn't have the time and energy to memorize so much...so the kids & I chose 1 Corinthians 13 (the LOVE chapter) ~13 verses long. They had been bickering a lot, and I felt like they needed to have a reference of understanding what Love is and HOW to love each other. Um, can I just say....it was for me all along?
Here's Take 1:
where the kids reveal just how much they truly love each other. ;)
Here's the whole thing (without hitting). ;)
It's hard to love sometimes. It's hard to keep your house (big or small) clean. It's just as difficult- if not more- to keep your heart clean.
Prayer:
Abba, help me to center my thoughts on what is "pure, lovely, and of a good report". Help me to keep the space in my heart clean and uncluttered. I want to get your Word deep in my heart, so that I won't sin against You or others. Help me to remember my identity as your Beloved Daughter, because it is in that place that I am safe, secure, and at peace. Remind me that no person on Earth can fill that space in my heart but You, so that I don't put unrealistic demands on other people. No one is my savior but you. I love you and thank you for the blessings in my life and choose to praise You today.
Amen!
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