I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. – Ezekiel 36:26
There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart. – Jane Austen
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
I have been given quite a gift. While not quite a “new” heart, I have been given a refurbished heart, and indeed something of an enhanced one. For those of you who have not heard, I suffered a mild heart attack two weeks ago and learned that 3 of my 4 arteries were sufficiently blocked to warrant bypass surgery. My surgeon routinely adds one or more additional bypasses, “while he’s under the hood”; and I now have 5 good pathways for the heart to pump blood. (I like to think that my heart has been super-charged…).
My stay in ICU and in rehab were both short, and all tests showed that these blockages aside, I am in pretty good cardio-vascular health. My strong heart, strong lungs, and steady and clear circulation are no longer impeded, so I’ll be better ready whenever I will need to shift into high gear in the future. I promise to move slow and steady with my rehab; but am quite optimistic and joyful at the promised extra energy that my care team all predict for me.
I have been given some things to work on that will help me make the most of my newly refurbished heart; I need to eat an even more disciplined “Mediterranean” diet – low fat and low salt. And I need to become a more disciplined and regular walker. Such small steps, really, when compared to the work that has been invested in me by God via the many skilled and gifted caregivers and healers whose hands touched me, nurtured me, strengthened me, and literally healed me. How ungrateful would I be to now gobble bacon double-cheeesburgers and milkshakes from my couch? Unsalted fresh veggies and more fish sound like a pretty easy enough trade-off for improved heart health.
We can and should all care for our physical hearts, especially when we have been given the gift of an upgrade. The same holds true for our spiritual hearts. In and through our relationship with Jesus we have been blessed with new hearts, better able to pump love into the world. The best thing we can do to keep our spiritual hearts healthy is a steady diet of love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We should avoid jealousy, fear, resentment, greed and arrogance – these will only serve to clog even the strongest heart, impeding our ability to share and to care.
We have been blessed; and blessed in order that we might be a blessing to others. Let us all do what we can to get plenty of exercise in service of others; living each day grateful for the new lease on life that has been afforded us.
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. – Proverbs 4:23
Peace,
Pastor Layne