The Heart of the Matter

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21

It was two weeks before Thanksgiving, but I found myself at a Christmas celebration for kids at the local mall. There was face painting, a bounce house, fake snow, a Christmas band, goodie bags full of gifts for the kids, and Santa even flew in on a helicopter. As I was walking around with my two boys—Jeremiah snuggled in my arms, and Mikey sporting a Christmas crown and a light up snow man toy—a news anchor approached me. “May I ask you a few questions?” He asked. “Sure”, I said, ”But what are you going to ask me?” “I don’t know yet,” He said. I replied, “Yeah right, but go ahead.”

Before I knew it the camera was on, and he knew his question alright, “So, Thanksgiving is not even here yet, but we are already celebrating Christmas! Why do you think that is?” Not having much time to think I said, “Because stores want to make money.” He looked at me somewhat confused. I explained…”Stores need a holiday to celebrate each month to attract more customers with sales.” He was amused by my response, which was later on the 10 o’ clock news. BUT, if I had more time to ponder my answer, I would have added that Thanksgiving doesn’t sell (except for Black Friday), because it is a holiday that focuses on what you already have instead of what you want to get. Christmas sells because people have replaced the birth of Jesus with presents and Santa. It’s sad, and perhaps a bit cynical, but true. As soon as the moms and dads and their kids watched Santa land in his helicopter (the highlight of the evening), they all headed inside to warm up…and almost every store was having a fantastic “early Christmas sale”. Christmas sells!

But what about Thanksgiving? Perhaps we can learn a few lessons about true Thanksgiving by taking a brief look at the life of Job.

“There was a man named Job who lived in the city of Uz. He was blameless, a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil. He had seven sons and three daughters. He owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred teams of oxen, and five hundred female donkeys, and he employed many servants. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area.” Job 1: 1-3

Job had everything it seemed. Then (for reasons far greater that our own comprehension), God took it all away…ALL OF IT! Yet Job did not blame God…not even a little bit. He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be stripped of everything when I die. The Lord gave me everything I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!” Job 1:21 Boy, could I learn from Job!

By God’s grace, it occurred to me that Job knew where his real treasure was. However, many people are tempted to skip over Thanksgiving and on to Christmas because they feel burned. Maybe they lost a job or foreclosed on a house. Maybe they don’t feel like they have much to thank God for. But, is that really true?

One thing I love about Job is that he was transparent. While he did not blame God, he let all his emotions ooze right out of him. He did not try to hold it all on and act like everything was ok. He let everyone know he was frustrated, he was hurt, he did not understand. He questioned God! And eventually God literally showed up! You see, I can’t claim to understand everything that you are going through right now, but I do know that you are never alone. God is with you now, and He will show up when you need Him most.

Many of you know how the story of Job ends. God restores Job physically and financially. But even before that, God restored Job spiritually and emotionally because through his trials, Job experienced God for himself. He said, “I had heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.” Job 42:5 What a wonderful inheritance! As Christians, we have the privilege of experiencing God even in the midst of our hardships. If we allow God to transform us through our trials, he can change us from the inside out…starting with our heart.

I pray that as we walk through trials as wives and moms, God will continue to transform our hearts to make us more like Him. In fact, I was having one of “those days” this past Friday and was letting another mom know that God was teaching me some more valuable lessons, but I was tired of learning that day. She quickly and wittingly responded, “Well, when God quits teaching you and you have no more lessons to learn, he will call you home.” I laughed and said, “Well, I guess I’ll keep learning then.” The truth is I do want God to make my heart more like His…even though the transformation is painful. Because when I am right with God on the inside, I can see God more clearly on the outside. So, here are a few nuggets that I have picked up from my Mom to Mom group that have helped me along the way:

1. My relationship with God on the inside will affect my relationships with my husband and kids.
2. Our children know us well enough to know our hearts.
3. Spiritual heart health—or heart disease—can be contagious.
4. God is in the business of heart transformation—and we should be too.
5. A joyful mom-heart makes a joyful home.

Prayer:
Dear Lord, you love us so much. Thank you for the good times and the times that stretch our faith. Please help us allow you to transform our heart so that we can see you working in us and around us. Please bless us with a joyful mom-heart so that we can be contagious for you this Thanksgiving season. In Jesus’ name. Amen

Verses to consider:
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit in me.” Psalm 51:10
“For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your mind and all your soul and all your strength.” Mark 12:30
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23-24