A Promise Kept by Stephanie O’Donnell
I planted a new-to-me perennial in my garden last year, which bloomed for the first time this spring. Rows of tiny, delicate white flowers arched along drooping branches. I gazed in amazement at the aptly named blossom with heart shaped petals that burst open and bled out from the bottom. Even the bleeding heart declares the glory of God.
Can’t you sense the groaning of the bleeding heart? Disease, death, loneliness, wars, broken families and relationships—hearts break and bleed wherever we look. Sin did all of this. Since the Fall, creation has been “subject to futility”, and in “bondage to corruption”. As a result, it groans. And so do we.
There must be something better than all this. Yes? Our hearts know it. We’re born expecting promises to be kept but we don’t journey very far in this life before the unfulfilled oath of another breaks our hearts. We yearn for wrongs to be righted, for peace to be restored, and for goodness that will last.
Even in all the hurt, there is hope—a hint of something better. For if there is no hope, how could a flower that represents brokenness be so, so beautiful? There is something better in a place called heaven. You’ve heard of it, but are you aware of its glories?
Scripture gives us a glimpse of what’s to come with these words, “a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away………and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore…..” Rev. 21:1-4
Oh, how I long for that glorious day! Don’t you? It seems far away from our present reality so how can we get there and experience this hope? The bridge from here to there is Jesus, the promised Messiah who came gentle and lowly.
He bled upon a cross; his heart broken as he cried out, ”Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!”
With his last breath he promised, “It is finished!”; the price for our sin now paid in full. Forgiveness is freely offered to all who would repent and believe this good news. For those who are willing, restoration is found and brokenness healed.
Heaven is a promise kept because Jesus bled and died. I’m certain the gardens of heaven will not contain delicate blossoms shaped as bleeding hearts stretched along bended branches. The reminder won’t be necessary.
My Guarded Heart – by Tessa Lind
I pull the blankets to my chin, gazing out the bedroom window. My favorite tree, a fifty-foot oak, is illuminated by moonlight. During its growing years, the tree branched out, splitting in two directions. One branch grew eastward, the other westward. After travelling in opposite directions for twenty feet, the branches decided to reunite. The silhouette of the tree now forms a heart upon which I gaze every night before falling asleep.
Some nights, when storms are churning, the wind threatens to break my branches. Clinging tightly to the solid trunk securely tethered to the ground, my tree shakes and quivers. Left breathless; my branches bend to the point of breaking. Leaves rain down as I frantically search for something to cling to. There is nothing. My boughs bow, almost touching the ground. I grasp and gasp, creaking and crying, trusting only in the roots holding me fast. “Search me, O God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts.” (Psalm 139:23) The tumult doesn’t cease, but still my heart remains.
Some nights, when the heavy, wet snow is falling, I feel the chill inside. My xylem and phloem have stopped flowing. I grow numb. Will I feel again? The flakes fall from the heavens, outlining my heart in pure white, a reminder of His love. “Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow,” the Psalmist cries. (Psalm 51:7) I echo his words. “Wash me, O Lord, cleanse me of my sin. Make me feel what you feel. Whiter than snow, O Lord..” The snow buries my branches. They scream from the weight, but still my heart remains.
Some nights, when the air is heavy and thick with mosquitoes, my tree glows with more than moonshine. Fireflies signal on and off, creating fireworks around my tree. No shame. Their light shines for all the world to see. No bushels to hide their light, just a tree on a hill standing firm. “Let your light shine before others.” (Matthew 5:16) Do I shine? Do I glorify my heavenly Father? I look deep inside my heart, searching for the light.
On the most precious nights, my heart is still. The tumultuous storms have ceased. The winter snows have melted, thawing my heart. Inspirational lights have sent me journeying with the light of Jesus, shining for all to see. My heart is changing, growing. Nothing can uproot my heart, for it is tethered to Jesus. “For the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)
The Palest Ink 