#guard your heart
The parable of the sower is plain. The seed sown is the word of God. The sower is our Lord Jesus Christ, by Himself, or by His ministers. Preaching to a multitude is sowing the corn; we know not where it will light. Some sort of ground, though we take ever so much pains with it, brings forth no fruit to purpose, while the good soil brings forth plentifully. So it is with the hearts of men, whose different characters are here described by four sorts of ground. [Yet the sole quality] that distinguished the good ground was fruitfulness. By this true Christians are distinguished from hypocrites. Christ does not say that this good ground has no stones in it, or no thorns; but [only that it had] none that could hinder its fruitfulness. All [hearts] are not alike; [yet nevertheless, for love of God] we should aim at the highest, to bring forth most fruit. [Even if we begin with stones and thorns, if we recognize them, we must not let them hinder God’s Word within us– for neither stones nor thorns are permanent fixtures, and we may implore the Gardener to aid us in tending and protecting His grain of the Gospel until harvest. Thus with all diligence] let us look to ourselves, that we may know what sort of [ground] we are.
Matthew Henry; Commentary on Matthew 13:23
Take care of your heart.
Let go of all the people who play with it. The ones who don’t know how to handle it. The ones who took advantage of it and recklessly pierced it into pieces. Let go of those who see your kindness as weakness and take advantage of it. Let go of them so you can fully see and appreciate your worth.
Take care of your heart.
Make a room for the peoole who deserve to have a spot in your life. Fight for the people who will lead you closer to the One who will fill the void in your heart. You may not know them yet but when you do, keep them. Allow yourself to feel what true love is from genuine people.
Take care of your heart.
Do not let the world make you become jaded because you are meant to become a diamond. This world may go against you but that won’t make you less of a person. Your heart is worth guarding for. Your heart is worth fighting for.
Above all else, take care of your heart.
The following is a guest post, written by my dear friend Anamaria Scaperlanda Biddick, in response to my post on guarding your heart vs. paying attention to reality. Anamaria is a freelance writer from Oklahoma who recently celebrated her one year wedding anniversary with her wonderful husband Travis. She is one of my most trusted advisors when it comes to relationships. I hope you glean as much from her wisdom as I have!
Picture this: you meet a handsome guy at a party filled with mutual friends; he just moved back to town after some years away, lured by both a job and the desire to be near his nieces and nephews as they grow up. He’s interesting and funny; after spending the evening talking, he asks if you want to get coffee sometime. You agree, give him your number, and the next day he calls to set up a time. A few days later, you meet for coffee. He pays for your latte and the hours fly by as you talk.
Reactions tend to fall into one of two categories: either immediate thoughts of everlasting love or telling yourself he just wants to be friends. Guarding your heart may aid against the former temptation—though, as Christina points out, so will paying attention to reality and keeping it in perspective—but it will only exacerbate the second, no less present danger.
After years of strictly platonic interest in me on the part of many different men, it was to this latter temptation that I was inclined by the time I met my husband. Truth be told, I had at least one conversation with my sister in which I expressed my doubt that he had romantic interest, despite a growing number of events which clearly indicated the contrary. I had grown suspicious of the possibility of romance. In spite of this, thanks to the grace of God and the charism of the eccelesial lay movement Communion and Liberation, I was able to stay rooted in the reality of our blossoming romance—which enabled our relationship to grow.
If I had guarded my heart, withholding affection proper to the relationship as it was, the relationship would have stunted. A relationship can’t grow and develop if one person is holding herself aloof from it, not engaging emotionally.
Budding romances are precarious things. A woman who withholds warmth and affection from a man who is interested in her will hinder the natural growth of the relationship (an aside: this is also true if you’re not interested in someone which, in that scenario, is a good thing). Men notice if their woman of interest is sitting close to them, laughing at their jokes, and eager to accept an invitation. Conversely, a man will notice (with discouragement) if the woman seems oblivious to him, doesn’t laugh at his jokes, or declines his invitations.
While not giving your heart away to a guy you just met is a good thing, keeping yourself emotionally aloof while you get to know him is not.
What about you? Have you ever tried to convince yourself that a guy didn’t like you in order to protect yourself? I’m especially curious about the experience of my married readers. :)
