I just sat down to a hot cup of Door County Toasted Praline Coffee and my Bible. The coffee is a new flavor to me and I am really enjoying the sweet taste. The fireplace is spewing forth some much needed heat to the house and it is time to write.
1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain, faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
As I was cleaning out the ashes from the hearth of the fireplace this morning, it dawned on me that it is Valentines Day. For some reason my mind went back to being in grade school and receiving little Valentine cards from the kids in your class. It was a nice custom and it was set up so that each kid received some and no one was left out.
My mind took me back to a classroom and I remember the chalkboards or as some would say blackboards that ran the total length of two walls. Kids, that was what we used to learn our lessons from. The teacher or sometimes us would write things out on the board to make the illustration large enough for everyone to see. Then you could copy it on to paper for reference later. The problem with that, was this. If you weren't fast enough taking your notes because you were staring at the girl next to you making goo goo eyes at her, the board would get erased and the information was gone. Not saved to a zip file or hard drive. It was gone! Now I will go to my grave not sharing the name of the girl who caused a bad grade or two for me. My secret crush is a secret.
But here is the point of the day. In life we may have experienced relationships that have not worked out and like the chalk board, those people have been erased from out hearts. But, the chalkboard and our hearts were made to be used again and again. The minute you erased the board it had room for another lesson to be studied. At night the boards would be cleaned and made to shine again and utilized the next morning. Our hearts have immense room to love and be loved.
So friends your heart might have erased some bad memories from it that were caused by sour relationships, but it was never meant to not be written on again. To have a heart filled with love you have to put love out there again. Tennyson wrote "Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." Don't be afraid to write again on the blackboard of your heart. Be open to love, possibly in different paths that God may want to take your heart. I always thought that dogs were just pets. Now having had a few hunting dogs come in and out of our lives, I found that you get attached to the fur balls and they write on your heart also. I have a wonderful wife and family who I love dearly, but I have also learned to love those who come weekly to listen to my sermons on Saturday nights. Don't erase the the blackboard with tears and never write on it again.
Have a blessed day.
Marty
Marty, Yes I remember those"blackboards, I remember spending to much time writing on them for not behaving in class. The blackboard of my heart though is full with my wonderful though small family and my much larger church family, love them both, and I love my LORD JESUS who has given me both.
ReplyDeleteAmen amen
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