Matters of the Heart

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

It had been one of those days. One of those days that nothing seems to be going right -- and even the things that are going right are clouded by the things that aren't. When I walk in the door and feel like doing nothing whatsoever -- much less smiling and talking cheerfully.

But of course, I work in jobs that require smiling and talking cheerfully. It's kind of important, when you are serving others, to do so pleasantly and politely. And yet, as I smiled, I did not feel like smiling. On the outside I had a positive attitude, but I did not smile on the inside.

It was becoming harder and harder to smile with a frown on my heart; harder to respond patiently to my customers as my heart grumbled.

And the Good Lord touched my shoulder and said... "What are you doing?"

"But God," I complained, "I'm having a rough day. I deserve to be grumpy!" Even as I said those words in my heart, I knew it wasn't right.

Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world. Philippians 2:14-15

Aren't you glad we have a God who forgives the grumbling of our hearts?

Instead of letting my heart grumble, I began to sing praise songs under my breath (in between customers, of course!). Instead of hanging onto my pity party, I let His peace flood my heart. Instead of dwelling on the negative things weighing down my mind, I set my "mind on things above" (Colossians 3:2).

And you know something? My day suddenly started looking up. By the evening I was tired but not depressed, weary but not weighed down. Just one more day of learning to dance with God.

He chooses the music and leads the dance, and it's up to us to take His hand and dance with Him in our hearts.

Shall we dance?

Making Memories

All good conversation, manners, and action, come from a spontaneity which forgets usages, and makes the moment great. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

There comes a time when the spontaneity of an idea is a valuable factor to consider in whether or not to follow through with the concept. And when I suddenly got the idea, on a breezy day, to kidnap my mother, well, I simply asked myself, "What would Mary Poppins do?"

And so...we flew kites.

I texted my mother and asked her to be ready when I got home, and I finished up the errands I was running with a stop at the dollar store to pick up kites. And down to the neighborhood park we went, to fly kites.

But not all went as planned. One kite wouldn't fly.

I love my mother very much.

In most circumstances, a dud kite would be a downer on the fun. My mom and I, however, laughed and laughed during our efforts to get the kite to fly. And the kite that would not fly produced more memories than its high-flying sister.

The moral of this story? I have two.

Spontaneity sometimes makes great memories.

Circumstances that do not go according to plan often make the best memories.