The heart.
It starts out small and soft. Unharmed. Unmarred. Beating perfectly.
And in it’s wondrous conditions, it grows. Loved, nurtured, protected
But as it outgrows it’s natural protection, as it becomes braver
It exposes itself to things that could hurt it, threatening to harm it
And it has two choices
To harden itself in protection and shrink back into the safe shelter of security
Or to grow and continue expanding beyond safety , keeping its softness, retaining its elasticity
One is the safe, more predictable choice
The other is the dangerous one, the one that exposes the heart to vulnerability and more pain
And one would think that the first choice would be the best
It hurts less.
It risks less.
It costs less.
And perhaps that is the difference right there.
It will always be less.
And while it will hurt and risk and cost more
The second choice also gains so much more.
It will experience things not even dreamed of by the safe, protected heart
Its beating stronger and more powerful than before
And I may be the fool
But my heart, with all its bumps and bruises and cuts
Will always make the second choice
Lord, may the broken parts of my heart
Not be stricken with callouses to heal
But with an increasing tenderness,
Making it prone to pain
But with a softness that finds it ever ready to love a little bigger and a little better than before
interesting…