Guard Your Heart.

Growing up, my mother would frequently remind me of the importance of guarding my heart. She would tell me time and time again that giving someone my heart and love were some of the greatest gifts I could give them. As I got older, she would buy me books and we'd have talks and watch sermons on guarding your heart and saving yourself for marriage and everything in between.

The older I got, the more I realized that it truly was important to guard your heart. Mother knows best!  From my first heartache in 2nd grade when Joel wouldn't swing on the swings with me, to the little things that get under my skin every now and again in relationships, I'm realizing how important it is to be careful with how much I give people.

Lately the Lord has really been showing me how silly I've been. Growing up, us girls wait and hope and pray for our Prince Charming to show up. We try our best to be modest and sweet and funny and all the right things that will attract a guy. We want recognition from that guy we've been pining over for the past few months.


Now, in my head it made sense that once you reached a certain age you no longer needed to worry about your heart's condition because you'd be an adult and be able to take care of yourself, right? Wrong. This current season of my life, at almost 22 years old, I've never felt more unsure and incapable to be in charge of my life. Growing up is difficult, we all know it. But something that it has taken me 20+ years to realize is that you'll never reach an age when you can stop guarding your heart. 

Just because you can drive, pay your own bills, and have a degree doesn't mean your heart doesn't need proper care and protection. I'm in love + engaged, but I am realizing that I still need to guard my heart. I'm not saying that Mark hurts me or that I can't trust him, but there are some things that really only need to be given to God.  Just because you've reached a certain age doesn't mean your heart is invincible.

Not only should you be guarding your heart to protect yourself from pain, but we need to be careful of what we allow ourselves to listen to, watch, and be a part of.

Proverbs 4:23 says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." 

If we are filling our heads with negative thoughts and foul language then we'll start to produce those habits and feelings. If we are filling our minds with positive self talk, encouragement, and truth then we'll pour that out to others and our lives will be rich with goodness and positivity. 

Another quote that I love is "We shall draw nearer to God, not by trying to avoid the sufferings inherent in all loves, but by accepting them and offering them to Him; throwing away all defensive armour. If our hearts need to be broken, and if He chooses this as the way in which they should break, so be it.” 
— C.S. Lewis // The Four Loves 

When we are not careful with our hearts, or even if it is in God's plan to teach us something through heartache, we need to remember that we can learn and move on and be better after the fact. We should always, in every circumstance, turn and praise God knowing that he carries us through every trial and storm. If there needs to be pain for growth to occur, so be it. Our God is a good God and knows what he's doing. 

My takeaway is this: Even if you've found your Prince Charming, and even if life is going well we need to be guarding our hearts. Even in the trials and storms, we need to guard our hearts from the voices of doubt and anger that could push us away from God. In the end, when we treat our hearts with value and care, we can love more fully and openly and follow God's call without reservation.

Comments

  1. This is so true.


    I've realized that guarding my heart is even more important now that I'm married; guarding my heart against the little things that become huge divisions between me and Caleb.
    And more importantly guarding my heart against things that make me stumble in my walk with God.


    Good word, friend! <3

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  2. Your post reminded me of Steve Green's song, "Guard Your Heart."

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  3. Aw! Haha I haven't heard that song, but I'll look it up!

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  4. So true! I think now that I am engaged I am realizing that it is important to make sure I am guarding my heart and at the same time loving fully. It's hard because I think we get used to people and assume that they can never hurt us. Even with friends! It's something that I'm glad I am seeing now and not later down the road.

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