“May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be confident knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones,
and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us.”
–Teresa of Ávila

This morning I was reading an update from a friend of mine who was blessed to receive a new heart just about 4 weeks ago. While I do not know if he is a believer, it is interesting to read his expression of his thoughts. It is a blessing that he is sharing his gratitude for his new opportunity, and his struggles that someone else lost their life in order to that he may extend his.

I can only imagine, and I pray that my imagination will suffice, what it must feel like to wake up and realize that someone else’s heart is beating inside of your chest.

As a believer, that was a hard sentence to type without pausing. Shouldn’t I know what it feels like, not physically, but mentally? I SHOULD KNOW!

My mind is recalling the visual image from Robert Munger’s book ‘My Heart, Christ Home’. And I am imagining my heart being given over to Christ bit by bit. My heart becoming His. I should know the fullness of having a heart transplant. A spiritual heart transplant! The heart that beats in this chest should not be my own, but His. Is that not the journey that each of us are on, giving our whole heart over to our Creator?

So, I am rereading the quote above, and that fourth line grabs me, “May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you”.

This morning I am reminded that when I accepted Christ, He gave me a new heart. A gift. My brain has been slow to realize this fully and to know what I am capable of with Christ’s heart inside of me. May this day, and each day, be an opportunity for me to grow in knowing what His heart inside of me is can do.

In His service,
Keith

PS… my friend, in his last message, also shared that during the surgery they cut the nerve connecting his heart to his brain, in order for there to be no communication between the brain and the new heart. The nerve may regenerate over time, he says. I wonder if the same thing happens when we accept Christ into our hearts. I can only imagine how much my brain would try to reject the messages coming from a new and radically different heart. And yet, over time I think that communication link regenerates.