A Problem of the Heart (Part 1)

Last week, amidst moving in and renovating our new home, we had to take a trip to a city 5 hours away for a specialist appointment.

My son has an aneurysm in his heart and this was his annual checkup. He is only 4 so we spent lots of time practicing how he was going to be still for the ultrasound and ECG. I told stories about being still, we played games simulating the ultrasound machine on his chest, and played freeze games on the way and in the waiting room preparing him for his big moment.

Well, we failed miserably. He cried through the whole ultrasound and would not lay still for the ECG. Afterwards, I was telling him how disappointed I was that he would not lay still when I needed him to, and when he asked why I said “Because you have a problem with your heart”.

I meant that he had a physical problem (a weakness) that needed seeing to, but the deeper meaning hit me straight away. He has a problem with his emotional heart too, a weakness in obedience. Its not just my son that has this problem (although 4 year old boys do seem to exhibit the symptoms more prominently than the rest of us).

We all have a weakness in obedience, a problem of the heart that prevents us from living right and from receiving the right treatment. And so while I will give Josh aspirin every day to keep things flowing smoothly, I will also pray and read God's word daily and talk about what Jesus means to us in the car on the way to school, and prepare meals or donate goods to people less fortunate than ourselves, and spend time being still and listening to God to see if there are any hardened bits that need His attention.

Stay tuned for Part 2 tomorrow...