Guard Your Heart

Hearts are funny things.

They’re actually very small compared to other body parts, yet have the biggest impact. I know scientifically a heart is just there to pump blood and keep everything going, kind of like a car engine (obviously I spent too much time with my brother in the holiday! :P ), but metaphorically it is so much more.

Hearts symbolise love and affection; emotion. Often people tell us to “follow our hearts” or “listen to our hearts”, as if the heart knows what we truly desire. Then we get the flip of the coin: the broken hearts. When someone hurts you, you’re let down or disappointed, we often say that our heart is broken. Trust, this is not a lekker feeling, as I’m sure most of us know. Often, to avoid feeling this “unlekker” feeling in the future again, we tend to close ourselves off or stop taking chances, just in case.

However, getting hurt isn’t something to run away from. No matter what, even if you close yourself up in some sort of bubble of protection, we will get hurt. Maybe a boy or girl will break your heart, maybe family or friends will disappoint you, maybe your pet will bite you and break your heart (and probably your wallet after you have to go for a tetanus shot). Sometimes we will get hurt and often it will be by situations beyond our control, but if we keep trying to run away from hurt, we will miss out on so many beautiful things along the way,

Think about it: imagine you are on this awesome road trip, but just an hour after you’ve left, the engine packs up and needs to be fixed. Now you have to postpone the road trip another week and get the engine fixed: not only does this cost money that you could have used to buy another whey protein or a giant box of lindt (depending on your preference :P), now you need to postpone this exciting road trip that you were looking so forward to. 

I get it, it’s horrible, but at the end of the day, if you choose to feel sorry for yourself and cancel the road trip, you will be missing out on incredible memories. Yes, it’s a week later, but now you will have new days to experience new things that may not have happened if you left the week before. And yes, you had to pay for a new engine, but at least it’s new and stronger; it knows better what to expect but that doesn’t mean it is going to stop driving (well giving the car power to drive) just in case it breaks down again. Otherwise what is the point of even having a car? They’re nice to look at but trust me, they’re a lot more fun to drive!!

Similarly, with our hearts, there will come a time when a person or situation will break your heart. This will, essentially, leave you with two choices: one, stop, or two, go.
You may feel hurt and broken, and it will be awful and hard and you will have to go through a reparation process, but it will eventually be healed. Maybe it will leave a bit of a delay in the road trip that is your life, but you will get to your destination eventually if you choose to keep going.
The moment we choose to stop our hearts from carrying on is the moment we choose to stop living. Trust me again, living is waaaay more fun than just being.

If Mary or John or whoever breaks your heart, it may seem like you will be single forever, but there is someone out there who will love you a billions times more than he/she ever could have, who will treat you way better than you thought you ever could be treated. You just need to look in the right places.
If family or friends let you down, there are other people who will still love and care for you and make effort not to let you down; again you just need to look in the right places and not close yourself off from making strong, stable relationships.
If your pet gets moody with you one day, just get a new one. Haha just kidding! People and pets are allowed to have moods. I have days where I love everyone and just want to hug random people in the street (especially those guys who are leaving to go to rugby practice… Well done maties, well done). However, I also have days where I’m moody and emotional for NO APPARENT REASON. Honestly, it is so frustrating. I just want everyone to leave me alone and I want to sulk in front of my laptop watching sad movies with a bowl of Coco Pops and a box of Simonette’s brownies with five different flavoured milkshakes on the side so I don’t have to make up my mind on what I feel like. Oh ya, and I want pizza just in case I’m still hungry (can’t trust your tummy when you’re having a bad day). Actually, maybe to feel less guilty I’ll have a protein bar to make sure not all the gains are bad ;) hehe…

ANYWAY, clearly I get very excited by food, but basically, just keep your heart going so you don’t miss out on what could be. Some people may hurt you in the same way, but not everyone will.

 
Just in conclusion, although we shouldn’t stop hearts from experiencing, we should be careful with them because a broken heart can lead to many negative consequences if not healed properly.

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23

Everything we do is based on our emotions or experiences, and if we choose to dwell on the negatives or hold onto the bad experiences, we will only hurt ourselves and others more. That is why it is so important to deal with what has hurt you, even if it means seeking professional help, having some insane God times, seeing someone at church, having a night out with the girls or boys; there are so many things we can do to heal, just my advice is to never try doing this alone. There is such strength in numbers, I mean even the Avengers are a group of superheroes that had to come together to save the world!

Isaiah 41:6 says, “they help each other and say to their companions, "Be strong!"

Eclessiastes 4:9-12 says, “Two are better than one,  they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.  But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

And then Isaiah 41:10, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

Just know that you can do this, you can carry on if you choose to. Your road trip may be delayed, but it doesn’t have to end.

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”
-Eleanor Roosevelt