February brings back all kinds of memories. Warming up by the wood stove at my Grandpa’s house. Hot chocolate. Sleds, snowball fights and Valentine’s Day. It is “Heart” month.
When I was in the 3rd grade our teacher helped us set up a Valentine’s Post Office in our classroom. Each student had a mailbox and classmates were encouraged to exchange Valentines by dropping them into the mailboxes.
Every day I would go to my mailbox hoping that someone had sent me a card. Most days it was empty. I got a card from my teacher but that doesn’t count. There were a couple of other days that I found cards in my box. They were the cheesy type—bought in bulk—signed in a hurry—and given to everyone in the class without any personal message or even thought put into it.
Most of the kids in my class had been together for more than 2 years and I was the new kid in town. Although school had been in session for 5 months—I still was not truly accepted by my classmates.
Yet, every day I would go to the box hoping that someone had remembered me. Most every day I would leave my box with a Charlie Brown complex. Nobody liked me. I wanted to be liked.
As you read this you may be thinking, “Bless his heart.” Have you ever heard that? What does “Bless his heart” mean?
It seems to be a Southern thing. You can use that expression when you feel sorry for someone. In other circumstances it is used to avoid gossip. You know what I mean. Someone will talk about the shortcomings or failures of a person and they follow it with “bless his heart.”
Common belief is that you can say anything about anyone and follow it with a sincere “bless his heart” and you are not gossiping. I don’t think that is true.
What does it mean to “bless a heart”? Our job, as Christians, is to bless the very heart of God. We do this by obediently loving people. We serve Christ by serving others. By serving others the very heart of God Almighty is blessed.
Let me share this example with you. I received an e-mail from Teressa Bays recently. She wrote that the Women on Mission had arranged for volunteers to help with testing at Bethesda Elementary School. The school was desperate for help. These women stepped up to volunteer their time. The teachers and the kids will notice that these women are full of love. My heart was blessed to the point of bursting from this news. I know that God’s heart was blessed.
There was a home that caught fire in our neighborhood in January and so many of you shared your blessings with the family in need. As I made one delivery, I noticed there was a pair of tennis shoes for the teenager. I looked in the box and realized that the woman who donated these shoes had actually bought them for herself. It just happened that there was a 13-year-old girl that needed them worse and it also “just happened” that they were exactly the right size. The heart of God was blessed by this gift.
The greatest gift that we can offer to others is the gift of God’s love. We do this by giving of our resources and ourselves and we tell them that Jesus Christ loves them so much that He took their place on the cross. Nothing blesses the heart of God more. Now—go—“Bless HIS Heart”!
Pastor RalphFebruary 2007 Newsletter Column
Bethesda Baptist Church
Durham, NC
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