Writing on the Hearts of Those We Love

Ginny writes about the notes that she leaves for her children each night. I’ve been thinking about this, the love notes that we leave on the hearts of others. The love notes that others leave us with. I chose Christ, reluctantly at first, because of the Love Note that He wrote on my heart. It was a note of tender desire, ownership, generosity and fullness. I was compelled by all that He offered.

A life of faith and trust in Jesus is an interesting thing. It is the most intentional of lives. As my husband said yesterday, there are 2 kinds of people in the world; committed Christians, and everybody else, and everyone on the face of the planet knows the difference. Can one say that about any other faith system? No. And, of course, the reason why is because Christianity is not a system regardless of how many have tried to distill it to such, it's a relationship with the Master of the Universe.

So, while a life of commitment to Yeshua is the most intentional, it often seems the most controlled, or the most chaotic. How does one measure and test hearing from the Lord, obedience to Him, a vibrant life of faith vs. something else? A life poured out often looks like personality disordered craziness.

And while it gives the appearance of stinginess and choking suffocation, or else utter chaos, it is only by immersing oneself in a life of conformity to Christ that one is finally, and fully (if that is even possible), able to write notes of truth and meaning on the hearts of those we love. Everything else is motivated by reaction or conformity or false philosophies that bind instead of free.

We are called to be faithful to write Truth; faith, love and hope, on the hearts of those we love. Of course, it is their choice, or not, to embrace those words or to walk away. I have seen a man who walked away from the words written on his heart and it was a tragedy. It grieved those writing the love story and the trail that he blazed on his own left contention and strife. He claimed freedom but it was all selfishness as he was committed to pleasing his own passions, drives and desires. If that is freedom, it is the carnivorous sort.

I'm no expert. I write little spiteful 7th grade notes far more often than I write notes of generosity and love. And I am often frustrated at how confined my life is, often because of obedience and conformity to Christ. And, too, I feel anger, and heart hurt, at those who are spiteful and mean spirited in response to the love notes I have so generously, sacrificially and laboriously written. I work to take captive every thought that demands that outcomes are my problem, because they're not, even though the lies of the enemy insist that they are. Writing notes that are bigger than ourselves is difficult and tedious work. Listening to notes of expansive love, rather than stingy subtraction is a discipline, too.

Last night was another night of feeling very broken and torn, attempting to distill meaning from notes that are tattered and barely recognizable. And my husband wrote a note on my heart in response to the turmoil. He said, "Be at peace, be still. God loves you. He delights in you. You are His. You are safe. You have enough." And my heart expanded and my world stilled because Truth was written on my heart.

I think about the notes that I write. Some are well done. Others I've left too long, others are sloppy. Intentional living demands sacrifice. What notes are you reading and writing?

Check out Ginny's lovely post and more inspiration at My Cup to Yours and the Hop, Time Warp Wife, Finding Heaven