I recently began to ponder abundance. The spark that ignited my pondering was a message delivered which included the passage Matthew 12:34: "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks."
Our mouths are great indicators. They give us away every time. Unless you are truly gifted in the art of cover-up or acting, you are continually giving others signals about what you really think, believe, and feel. Whatever occupies most of the living space in your heart is what's going to come out. Fear shows up. Bitterness is revealed. Joy is spread around like a great virus. Hope and doubt get equal opportunity to be reflected in the tones of the words we speak.
Being an organizer naturally had me comparing what we have stored up in our physical homes, to what we have stored up in our hearts. Both "containers" can hold a fairly large amount of stuff. And we choose on both accounts, how we fill them. It could be treasures or trash, grandeur or garbage.
And then the abundance speaks, whether out of our mouths revealing the abundance of our hearts, or from a visit to our kitchen revealing our life of crazed busyness. Or hopefully, those around us encounter treasures and peace through our homes and our words.
I am inspired again to check my inventory, physical and intangible. I wonder what is currently most abundant in both?
(c) 2010 Sheri Smith Bertolini
An excellent word. Thanks, I needed that!
ReplyDeleteFor many years, my heart did not have a voice. I stuffed everything and bore it. Then, I received some inner healing, and my heart gets permission to speak. On a good note, my mouth now reveals what is in my heart, so now I know what I'm really dealing with. On a bad note, it's not too pretty.
Often when this subject is taught, the instruction is to hold one's tongue. Unfortunately, we conclude that we need to stuff it to make this happen. I think a more effective and efficient action is to clean out one's heart by taking it to the Lord and processing it with him, then leaving it with him.
Any house organizing tips you'd like to give us that would apply to how to clean out our hearts?