What does your heart desire? I've been asking myself that question: what does my heart desire? My heart's desire is to know my Savior better and to serve Him better and for my family to also find joy in knowing Him and serving Him.
Examine your heart. What is the condition of your heart? The parable of the sower in Matthew 13:3-8, describes four types of soil and tells what happens to a seed planted in each type of soil. The soil could represent four types of hearts and the seed could be gospel truth. Is your heart ready, open, prepared for truth? Or is your heart a little hard? Do you maybe need to pick some weeds? Is your heart good ground? "Jesus explained that “the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15). We have the seed of the gospel word. It is up to each of us to set the priorities and to do the things that make our soil good and our harvest plentiful" (Dallin H. Oaks Parable of the Sower).
How can we love the Lord with all our heart? It occurred to me this week that loving and serving with our whole heart involves more than commitment. Serving with our whole heart also requires that our hearts are whole. What if our hearts feel broken? Sometimes our hearts feel broken because we have made some mistakes and need to repent. Sometimes our hearts feel broken because we've been hurt by others. Sometimes our hearts feel broken because we are discouraged, sad, afraid, or bitter. He can make our hearts whole.
What helps my heart to feel whole? I like the words of the scripture in Jeremiah 24:7 printed above. As I my heart has longed to know the Lord, I have studied the scriptures more and gone to the temple more. The scriptures have had a great impact on my life. I grew up afraid. Afraid of bad guys in trench coats breaking into my house. Afraid of fires and bombs. Afraid of my parents arguing. Afraid I wasn't pretty enough or smart enough for my dad to love me. I know this sounds dramatic, but fear was the overriding emotion of my childhood and early adult life. This is what I want you to know. In a very real way, the Savior through reading the scriptures, healed and continues to heal my heart. The words flow through my soul like a healing balm. I love the scriptures. They are a delight to me.
We are commanded to love the Lord our God with all our heart. This requires all our might, mind, and strength, and it requires surrendering our heart to Him so that He can make us whole. No matter what we've done or what has happened to us, He can heal us. He gives us a heart to know Him, and when we seek to find Him, follow Him, and know Him, then we can return unto him with our whole heart.
Let's jump in and study the scriptures together. I'm so excited to learn with you and from you! Let's make sure our hearts are good ground and let's grow this year.
I love you all,
Mom
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