She woke up beside him, and as her eyes opened so too did her heart to the realization that this relationship too had failed; failed to satisfy a deep aching to be one with another.

She laid there crying; the morning after what could have been a great show, had the headline act not been akin to a failed lip sync battle.  In retrospect, her life was a kind of lip sync.  She knew the words, knew what God had to say about her, about how she was to conduct herself, how she was to wait and hope and trust in Him but she kept stumbling.

Disappointment washed over her, more real than the waves that lapped the shoreline mere feet from the hotel room.  The realization that she had yet again failed to walk worthy of the Lord’s sacrifice brought currents of pain and shame.  Each surge of guilt stripped another layer of her heart leaving it raw.  Like salty ocean currents on open wounds, condemnation steeped to her very core.  She felt ashamed, a failure, utterly ruined!

She is Super Woman always first to the office, always the last to leave, she is the t crossing, I dotting Phenom you can count on to have a solution to any challenge.

Day and night, she grinds.  To onlookers, her toil appears to be an effortless dance to the beat of ‘the man’s’ drum.   Her walls and shelves boast awards that testify of her accomplishments.

She has come a long way from the days when her socks kissed the ground daily through the hole in her one good pair of school shoes.   She has toiled all the way to the top.   She could sleep in the luxurious comfort of the bed her money bought, but instead, she clings to her tears soaked pillow hoping it could whisper to her secrets that could fill the void inside.  She questions the worth of it all.  Why does she feel so unfulfilled?  If all she’s accomplished doesn’t satisfy her then what will?

She yearns to love like He does; this God she thinks she knows

She constantly feels unworthy of the mercies He bestows

She wants to delight in His precepts, His words always to obey

But everyday she falls short of His character in display

God knows she is impatient and scarcely ever kind

She often feels ashamed of the thoughts fashioned by her mind

Oh to be more like Him!

In His image to grow

But from the wellspring of her heart these maladies flow

Perhaps you can identify in some small way with the characters portrayed here.  God knows I’ve got issues!   My struggles are very real and more varied than fifty shades.

“…Guard your heart with all diligence  for out of it flows the issues of life…”

  God, you mean if I erect some kind of barrier, put up a defense, then my life could be less problematic? The imagery this scripture conjures in my mind is one of weaponry and battle armor, I think safety vaults or Secret Service agents.  For the biblically literate Ephesians 6 comes to mind; undoubtedly this is a part of it.   As I pursue a deeper understanding of this scripture, I have tried to deduce a formula, maybe a 12 step guide …what I am learning is that every step of the process starts and ends with one act, – surrender!

Surrender is typically considered the antithesis of guarding but what if the way to protect, defend, shield our hearts – the centre of our emotional-intellectual-moral activities is to fully yield it, submit it  ” …to the one who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy”

I would love for us to explore this together.  Please take a moment and share your comments.

1. Have you struggled with heeding this instruction to guard your heart?
2. In what areas of your life have recognized a need to be more deliberate in guarding your heart?