Hurting Hearts

Hurting Hearts. February is Heart Health Awareness month. I've seen women wearing their red dresses, shirts, and scrubs on Women's Heart day. Magazines have stories about heart healthy diets and exercises. I've even gone for my pre-surgery cardio check-up during February. And there were plenty of hearts on Valentine's Day. Hearts to show love and affection for those people who are special. However, with the emphasis on our physical hearts, we forget about our spiritual and emotional hearts.

Right now there is a situation in my extended family that has resulted in hurting hearts. Hearts that are being broken by events that probably could not have been avoided. The emotional toll is tremendous and radiates beyond just the person involved. God has put into our make-ups the capacity to love and to hurt when someone we love is hurting. Sometimes I wonder why. Why such a gift? To me, the hurt I feel right now is just a small taste of how God's heart is broken when we disobey Him; when we fall away from His Will; when we forget Him in our daily lives. I'm ashamed to think that when I sin, when I don't tell my God I love Him, that I hurt Him. I don't need a special month to emphasize my spiritual heart for God. I need to do that every day of my life.

But what about those I know who are hurting? Whose hearts are being broken? I can't be there physically, but God has given me the privilege of being able to ask Him to touch them and heal their broken hearts. I just need to ask. He has promised never to leave me or forsake me, and I know He is ready to answer my prayers. I have to be ready for his answer.