Let’s go for a walk…and leave our mittens at home : )

I have a favorite pair of mittens.  

They are woolen and oh, so warm! They were a gift from a friend some years back.  You might see the small holes, and the little wooden beads ~ a few of them have popped off. It’s no matter to me.  They are still the best for bundling up!  Beautifully dyed yarns woven perfectly together, they’re especially cheery against the subtle grays of winter.

I wish there was a way to insert a link for you to click on ~ one that could take you to the smell of the earth on an almost-spring day, here on the trail. That damp, mossy goodness that infuses the air when the sunshine is warming the leaves beneath the glistening traces of snow. But since I’m not able to do that, I thought I’d take you along for my walk…

This is where I find my inspiration, where I find my joy.  The natural spaces beneath the blanket of the vast and open sky. We can take our time and soak up some of that gorgeous sunshine!  I hope you don’t have to be back too soon.

We can talk about life and the beauty of God in the midst of it all.And those snuggly mittens….well, we won’t be needing them today : )

Mittens are wonderful accessories in winter.  They’re nice for covering up. Providing a barrier between our hands and the cold. And if you’re lucky, you can find a pair that are not only functional, but lovely to look at, as well.  Woolens that you can wear with finesse ~ something to suit your own unique style!

Sometimes I wish there were mittens for our hearts.

Just a little something on those days our hearts feel especially fragile. A warm, cozy wrap to bundle up the hurt that feels like it’s spilling out into this cold, cold world.  

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I can vividly remember some of those frigid months, where my heart was in such need of warming that I wasn’t sure if it would ever beat in rhythm with this life, again.

Looking back in time, nearly 20 years.  A foreboding winter when my mind was riddled with fear. Overwhelming, gasping-for-air, praying for a lifeline-kind of fear.

It lasted for months.  Weeks passed and I was consumed by the seeming power of the anxious thoughts whirling round in my head.

Exhausted from the trial, there were days that my mother would sit and sing to me as my withering body curled up in her arms. Songs from my childhood.  How did she know that I would find comfort in the closeness of her like I did when I was young?

Her soothing touch brought fleeting peace as she stroked my head,  laid weary on her shoulder.

Her love in the midst of my chaos ~ that was like a mitten wrapped around my heart.

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A dear friend struggles to face the pain that lingers strong even after all these years.  She lost her brother, too young.  Screaming inside, hating the wound, and trying desperately to close it and keep it from swallowing her up.

…

Watching her father aging, there are days when he forgets who she is. The beautiful woman standing faithfully at his bedside was once his little girl. Also my treasured friend. The stinging reminder that time marches on, in ways that we cannot control.

My friends need mittens for their hearts.

They, too, are fallen and sometimes lost in this world. Longing for respite.

I would venture to guess that you know someone who is struggling right now. Maybe it’s you.

We yearn for warm, honest, and steadfast comfort. Wrapped around us to bind up and protect our aching hearts from the hurts of this world. The ones that seem to keep piling up and won’t go away. The injustices. The cruelties. The abandonment.

If  it were only a matter of bandaging.

We attempt to protect our hearts by pushing back the emotions with cautionary measures. All the while, unknowingly keeping others – and their love, at bay. Limiting relationships, burrowing down into our sorrow as if it holds some kind of salve to ease depth of our grief.

But healing is  a matter of time.  

God’s time.

His healing.

For He has promised us that He would always be there.  In all of the pain.  In all of the hurt.  In all of the anger.  In everything.

He meets us where we are, and when we finally surrender the angst and misery that has held us bound,  the promise of His love can rush in!

It is the only real healing that can truly mend our throbbing, wounded hearts.

Zephaniah 3:17

“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”

It’s been 20 years.  And I have finally relinquished the mitten around my heart.  It was there for the time that I needed it.  But I have since learned, that although  mittens do provide us with a sense of warmth and security, they can also create a barrier between us.

A barrier between our souls and God.

Everybody’s “heart mitten” looks different.

Our perception of what’s ‘holding us together’ is unique to our own experiences in this world.

I used to think, somewhere deep inside, that if I let go of the fear that I held onto for so very long, that I would have nothing left.  It had become a part of me.  A part of my identity.

But like a mitten, the fear encased my heart.  It gave me the illusion of protection. The false appearance that my unsettled, chaotic life could still be pretty ~  if I just  wrapped it up right, and pretended that everything was fine.

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But through all the years of hiding and doing my best to hold it all together, Christ was there.  He waited patiently on me to let go of my hurt and broken places.

And when I did, His love poured in like a surge of refreshment to heal me.

To bring me closer to Him.

Truly free of those old and worn-out parts of me, bit by bit, His brilliant love became all consuming.

Once I tasted what it was like to live in His embrace…I didn’t long for my heart-mitten any more.

I just want more of Him. More time to be in His presence.

So let’s walk in the chilly spring air together. Breathing in the joy of being alive…as we watch the earth come to life once again.

Can you smell the pines?

We can leave our mittens at home. Hands open to the brisk March air, so that we can enjoy the glowing warmth of the sunshine on our skin. Take off the barriers between us and our Jesus. 

God’s mercies are all around us ~ His loving grace in the gift of nature.

Some of the beauties in life are harder to find.  We have to look a little deeper.

Peering between the branches and thickets that surround one another’s hearts…there, we will find a vibrant and beautiful song that longs to be free in each of us.

Let’s stop here for a minute and take it all in…

For in Him we will find peace unsurpassed.

Our hearts will no longer need mittens.

Because as we open ourselves up to God’s healing love, the spaces that used to be taken up with fear, sorrow, anger, and other hurts of the world, will be filled with His grace.

Grace radiates His goodness.

Our love and our compassion will become the mittens to those hearts who have not yet discovered the true warmth that only our Savior, our Jesus can provide.