Heart Issues

"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls."           Matthew 11:28-29

I am a planner and a doer. I enjoy living my life to the fullest. My mind is constantly thinking ahead, looking for new adventures, setting goals, strategizing how I can accomplish everything, scheduling visits with friends, searching for airfare deals, etc. While my mind is whirling with future ideas and plans, I am also trying to juggle work, ministry, online English class, online TESOL class, online training for a 2nd job, books that have to be read, Bible studies to teach, friends and other random projects, all with deadlines, of course.  My mind just goes and goes and goes..... until my heart yells,  "Stop!"

Physically, my heart can only handle so much. Doing too much, compounded by lack of sleep and too much caffeine causes my heart to act up. There have been times that my blood pressure has been.... well, let's just say one time a nurse friend told me I needed to go to the ER cause it was so high. Add to that the fact that one of the valves in my heart is thicker than it's supposed to be. Not a big deal, they really won't do anything about it unless it gets worse, but it's enough that I can tell when my heart's not right. When I get so busy that I barely have enough time to remember my name and age, it puts undo stress on my heart. 

Not just my physical heart though. My spiritual heart. That's why I love the verses above. I have to remind myself to stop. To be still. To know God. To spend time in His presence. If I don't, my spiritual heart gets out of rhythm. It doesn't matter how many Bible studies I teach. How many friends I encourage. How many missions trips I take. If my heart is not in tune with God, all of it is pointless. 

It's a daily task - reminding myself to slow down so I can enjoy God and life. I want to rest in my Saviour's arms. Want to enjoy His presence that brings joy (Ps. 16:11) Desperately want my life to reflect His light and grace and that will only come as I spend quality time with Him. 

I'm working on my heart.... how's yours?