Crystal clear blue skies provide a beautiful backdrop to the naked trees. The bright white snow sparkles in the sun. It's a beautiful day.
Sitting in my newly remodeled dining room, enjoying my hot black coffee the view out my window is lovely and you would never guess that if you stepped outside the blast of Arctic air hits you in the face like a two by four.
It's cold.
No, you don't understand.
It's not ordinary winter cold.
It's frigid cold.
18 degrees below zero cold.
Sitting in my newly remodeled dining room, enjoying my hot black coffee the view out my window is lovely and you would never guess that if you stepped outside the blast of Arctic air hits you in the face like a two by four.
It's cold.
No, you don't understand.
It's not ordinary winter cold.
It's frigid cold.
18 degrees below zero cold.
It's wind chills of -35 degrees cold.
My fingers clumsily trip over the keyboard because they're cold. And I'm inside.
I hate cold.
From the safety of my home the day is still beautiful despite the bone chilling winds.
My fingers clumsily trip over the keyboard because they're cold. And I'm inside.
I hate cold.
From the safety of my home the day is still beautiful despite the bone chilling winds.
But the thermometer tells the truth.
That's how my heart feels at times.
Frosty.
Immune to the hurt and pain around me.
Desensitized by life and reacting to hurts, I erect ice walls brick by brick. Layer upon layer of anger, pride, annoyance, judgement, greed...fill in the blank.
The result?
Frosty.
Immune to the hurt and pain around me.
Desensitized by life and reacting to hurts, I erect ice walls brick by brick. Layer upon layer of anger, pride, annoyance, judgement, greed...fill in the blank.
The result?
A holed up, impenetrable icy heart impervious to warmth.
And I see it all around me too-- this cold cold heart. Sometimes it comes out in cutting humor, a critical negative attitude or just a jaded, cynical view of life and people and God. Cold hearts don't discriminate based on race, age, socioeconomic status, intelligence, religion or politics.
Everyone is at risk. No one's immune.
And I see it all around me too-- this cold cold heart. Sometimes it comes out in cutting humor, a critical negative attitude or just a jaded, cynical view of life and people and God. Cold hearts don't discriminate based on race, age, socioeconomic status, intelligence, religion or politics.
Everyone is at risk. No one's immune.
But I don't want to be an ice princess.*
I see a hurting world and I want to respond.
What can melt these icy walls?
What can melt my soul to love?
Melt My Soul to Love by Joseph Swain
Hark! From the cross a gracious voice,
Salutes my ravished ears;
Rejoice, thou ransomed souls, rejoice!
And dry those falling tears!
Salutes my ravished ears;
Rejoice, thou ransomed souls, rejoice!
And dry those falling tears!
Amazed, I turn, grown strangely bold;
This wondrous thing to see;
And there the dying Lord behold,
Stretched on the bloody tree.
‘Sinners’, he cried, ‘behold the head,
This thorny wreath entwines;
Look on those wounded hands and read
Thy name in crimson lines.’
The power, the sweetness of that voice
My stony heart does move;
Makes me in Christ my Lord rejoice
And melts my soul to love.
This wondrous thing to see;
And there the dying Lord behold,
Stretched on the bloody tree.
‘Sinners’, he cried, ‘behold the head,
This thorny wreath entwines;
Look on those wounded hands and read
Thy name in crimson lines.’
The power, the sweetness of that voice
My stony heart does move;
Makes me in Christ my Lord rejoice
And melts my soul to love.
*yes, I am writing that with Seinfeld in mind
2 comments:
Melting is a really powerful analogy for our cold, hard hearts ... melting, and maybe evaporating ... but I'm way too tired to follow that train of thought anywhere. Love the poem at the end, too (is it a song?) - quite lovely.
Red Mountain Music...go to their website...I think you'll like it. :)
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