Erosion of the heart

Photo Courtesy of Linda Jackman Photography
http://lindajackmanphotography.com/

The other day I watched rivulets of water from melting snow trickle down my driveway creating ruts. Today in the freezing temps, those water filled ruts have frozen and widened. I watched my daughter navigate these obstacles trying to avoid them on the way to bus.

According to the dictionary….. Erosion is the natural process of weathering and transport of solids (sediment, soil, rock and other particles) in the natural environment or their source and depositing them elsewhere.

Recently, I used the following analogy about erosion to draw a word picture of how our hearts can be eroded by our loved ones, specifically our family members.

Often our loved one never “intends” to hurt us. Reality is though eventually they do actually wound us. They do things over and over which causes ruts to be carved on our hearts. Rarely do we bring this up. We just react. We pull back, hurt back or just ignore both the issue and the offender. We get over it and move on, but the rut grows deeper with each hurt.

Gradually all their stuff (words/actions) washes over our heart and trickles down the eroded grooves widening them. So we hear or feel things based upon it washing over the grooves and picking up remnants of the hurts that are deposited in the troughs.

Eventually everything they say or do…is covered in baggage and offensive. The result is defensiveness which is divisive.

Watching flood ravaged areas, one sees sandbags to prevent erosion and trucks backfilling things as earth is washed away. I pondered how to fill the grooves in my heart left behind by others whose words or deeds have gradually etched my heart and wounded my spirit. People I am forced to interact with daily.

Backhoes would destroy my heart. A sandbag would squash it. Avoiding people is not an option especially when you are related to them or even live with them. How to fix it?

According the Mayo Clinic: "Generally, forgiveness is a decision to let go of resentment and thoughts of revenge. The act that hurt or offended you may always remain a part of your life, but forgiveness can lessen its grip on you and help you focus on other, positive parts of your life. Forgiveness can even lead to feelings of understanding, empathy and compassion for the one who hurt you."

Our Creator’s word says:

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Colossians 3:13

Anxiety in a man's heart weighs it down, But a good word makes it glad.

Proverbs 12:25

Forgiveness is an act we do without any action on our offender’s part. It is giving up our right to revenge. It’s our choice and it would seem forgiving is heart healthy for us.

Point to Ponder:
Does the erosion of my heart affect my relationships? What can I do to heal my heart? What choices do I need to make and whom do I need to forgive?



Life's Tsunamis

In reading about deadly storm surges and tsunamis, I learned the height and speed of the water are determined by the landscape of the deep ocean floor. What we see in the surge, is based on what lies unseen in the formation of the ocean floor.

In December 2004 a tsunami hit Indonesia and left more than 150,000 people dead or missing and millions more homeless in 11 countries, making it the most destructive tsunami in recorded history. It was a normal day. Sunny blue skies, but unbeknownst to the masses, an earthquake deep in the Indian Ocean generated enough energy to send a wall of water rushing the shorelines and waterways hundreds of miles away. There was no real warning for many.

Walls of water can rush at 600 MPH leaving in their wake desolation and devastation.

Tsunamis can be a result of seismic activity or storms.

The 2004 Tsunami in Indonesia affected people who didn’t feel the earthquake and were nowhere near the epicenter, yet the consequences for many were life altering.

Occasionally life can resemble a tsunami leaving desolation and devastation in its wake. Conflict, betrayal, a lie, a diagnosis and a clear sky day can turn on a dime without warning. What about the times when we are caught up in the surges of someone else’s life. We aren’t the cause or even near it when it happens yet we are rocked by its shockwaves…often unexpectedly.

Surviving a tsunami or storm surge is about leverage.

Our only salvation from being swept away in a surge is being tethered to something larger and stronger than ourselves and the force of the surge itself.

Emotional tsunami’s can enter our lives without warning. Being prepared and assured of a solid foundation can help us weather the surge. How will you stand firm in the face of that diagnosis, that loss, that grief, that broken trust?

Our Creator promises to be a refuge.

Psalm 9:9 The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

Point to Ponder: What lies unseen in our hearts? What determines the force of our surges, of our waves as they crash ashore? Where is our stronghold?

Big Snows and Little Flakes (Guest Blogger)

GUEST BLOGGER INTRO Today I am hosting my sweet friend Annie as my guest blogger. A nature lover and a God lover like I am, her take on the snow is simply wonderful. She is also the writer who wrote the questions at the end of the chapters in "Beside the Sea with Thee".

Today is Epiphany! An apt day to write about insights and ideas. One of the thoughts that has been floating around in my mind these past few weeks is about snow. We have had an unusually snowy December and the first truly white Christmas since our family has lived in this house. The snow-covered world around us is quite welcome at Christmastime and makes it easy to enjoy its beauty.

I love the look of trees and bushes that have been draped with lights, then smothered in the snow so the lights glow through it. I love the way a blanket of snow makes everything more beautiful – from bare tree branches to a pile of junk in someone’s back yard. I love the sweeping scenery that snow creates across the landscape of hills and forests around western Pennsylvania. And though I don’t live in the mountains, I have been to the Rockies in winter, and I carry pictures in my heart of their grandeur beneath the falling snow.

These visions outside my window and inside my memories stir my awe and wonder at the vast and majestic nature of God and His creations.

Then, there are the snowflakes themselves. If you get really close to them, perhaps with a magnifying glass, you see another world of beauty. Not being someone who enjoys getting cold, I prefer to look at photographs of snowflakes! We have books with incredible pictures of snowflakes along with detailed explanations of how they form, the different classes of flakes, the conditions that create the facets and branches of each kind of flake… it’s amazing. The crystalline structures are exquisite, and there are so many different kinds of snowflakes! We rarely get to see them in all their glory, but they are there nonetheless.

These stunning photos astonish me with God’s creativity and attention to details.

Snow, on a macro scale or a micro scale, reflects and reveals its Creator. Where do you find Him?

Think about it!

Annie

Annie@TreeOfLifeStudio.com

Photo of Road Courtesy of Hannah I. Shoemaker
Photo of Snowflake Courtesy of Linda Jackman Photography http://lindajackmanphotography.com/