A Heart of Flesh

It is in repeated encounters with God’s vulnerable, active love that our own hearts begin to soften and break open.

You gazed at me,
inviting me to gaze back into the ocean of your love.
It was unbearable.
I could not sustain a gaze at first.
Only glances.
Your love fell in waves against my shame and fear and pride,
carrying away small segments at a time.
It felt like certain death.
And so it was.
Little by little I died.
I thought there would be nothing left.
But you knew the seed of life you had once formed in me
would lie exposed, aching with love and longing.
And so I was.
I was unearthed
by your loving gaze.
You treated me as though I were the pearl of great price
that you had sold everything to buy.
And so you had.

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

Prayer suggestion:

Invite God to give you a heart transplant. Offer to God your defended, well-protected heart. Ask God to expose your tender heart of flesh.

Juanita Ryan

http://www.juanitaryan.com/

A SONG OF MY DAD

For dump trucks full of cereal and the spirit of excellence; for a quick mind who puts God first; for picnics of sardines, Vienna sausage, cheese and bologna sandwiches; for walks in snow covered woods and teaching me to listen to the sound of the whippoorwill; for taking time to stop in the mountains and show us pure streams of water that still gush out of rocks; for bending his knees before the throne to petition the Holy God

 ( yes, I remember walking into the room unnoticed as my Dad poured out his petitions before the LORD in prayer as a child); for the firm foundation of stability and for being the first to show loving and tender mercy to this once wayward girl; for the wisdom of guiding his family threw troubled and storm tossed waters with the LORD and the Word of God as his compass; for the tireless and endless days of loving and providing, and letting that love shine like a beacon for many to find their way home to safety; for loving my mother and claiming her as his beloved for more than 58 years demonstrating the Bridegroom's love for his Bride; for graces to demonstrate patience that is a fine honed virtue to four generations; for integrity in all of his business dealings and being a man of his word and keeping his word in a world that has lost that treasured art and honor; for his mentoring of the fatherless, his compassion and generosity to the widows and the orphans; for pinching my ear with the greatness of his immense affection; for the embodiment of godliness  and being the first to build bridges of grace for the lost prodigals to cross over; for being first to apologize and quick to repent; for loving the LORD with all his mind and heart and strength so that that love for God spills over in an undeniable  manifest love of his neighbor; for his habit of rooting for the underdog; for these soft spoken words, "Daughter, pick yourself up, brush yourself off and keep going," that  built resilience into my very being; for giving God all the glory for the many blessings and miracles of his life; for the lollipops handed out to every child at church every Sunday; for his Bible that is always open and the deep assurance that I-- still his child-- feel because I know my Dad is in his Word...for these #1000Gifts and oh so many more, I give thanks and praise to the Most High for giving me John Harrison Worden as my father! Dad, Happy Father's Day! You are and always will be my daddy and I a daddy's girl. I love you!