I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. – Ezekiel 36:25-26
Sometimes there is a moment when a heart sparks back to life. It is a surprise, like a sudden gasp when you have forgotten you were holding your breath. It is a moment that feels like you have woken up. A moment when your clarity is razor sharp and you feel your passion ignite. It’s a moment when you hear the Holy Spirit speak.
My son went on a long hike very recently in the backwoods. He told me that, even in mid-May in odd little crevasses, small patches of snow were still hiding in the coolness of the shade. It was a surprise to know that small frozen spots still lingered in unexpected places. A surprise to realize that winter was still trying to cling to the springtime forests.
So it is with my heart. I wander from God without noticing the distance. I hold onto thoughts that destroy my joy. I shield myself with walls of icy cold built to keep away both love and repentance. I think I am okay. Except there are small frozen patches that are hiding.
I believe I am fine. Things aren’t bad. But they aren’t amazing either. Maybe it’s because I am rushing through my prayer life, my Bible reading, and my world. And suddenly I find I have stopped looking. Looking for God in the in-between spaces. Looking with the eyes of my heart. Something is off. My heart has grown colder.
God was always there, I just stopped noticing. Until that moment. It always catches me by surprise. It is like the first day of Summer’s warmth. So familiar, yet unexpected and suddenly there. And it’s a relief. A relief to feel the heat. A relief to feel a sudden igniting. A relief to feel the Sun’s fire melt the ice in my heart. God has again given me a Summer heart.
It is a heart that sees again. It is a voice that fervently prays. It’s a soul that hungers for the Bread of Life and thirsts for Living Water, Water that flows freely, unhindered by barriers of ice. A heart that loves others without reservation and loves God unabashedly. I renounce my citizenship in the kingdom of this world and embrace my adoption as a child of God.
My heart again becomes a Summer heart. Perhaps it was in the moment I prayed with others for their ministry. Perhaps it was when I called out to God or perhaps it was when I was ready to hear Him speak. But my heart has suddenly become warm, yielding, and eager to produce fruit. The ice has melted in an instant as the Sun has banished the shadows, leaving fertile soil in its path. It has become the time to till and plant with joyous expectations. It has become the time again to cultivate and grow my Summer heart.
Written by Janet Keefe
