This morning’s scripture reading was in Ezekiel. I had stopped at the end of chapter 35 only to notice in the next chapter I had underlined a couple of verses from years back. As I read them they were the verses 26 & 27, ch. 36. It says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” I know in my autobiography I wrote about this message and its direct connection to the therapy I was getting at that time. It would have been in 2010 or 2011. I had always pictured my “clean heart” as the glistening, stainless steel milking bucket we had when I was growing up on the farm and we used it for milking the cows. This scripture pointed out that I was given a heart of flesh, not glistening steel which would be rigid. The footnote in my bible says a heart of flesh is pliable and teachable.

It has been more than a decade since I was give the promise of a heart of flesh. During this time I’ve learned that a heart of flesh feels like it never had before. It sees hurt and hurts with it. It feels pain but doesn’t have to own it. It discloses its own past pain to assure one in pain that it can be healed and used to help others. It senses God’s Spirit and desires to obey His nudges (selfishness does hinder at times and must daily be surrendered).

God is so AMAZING, LOVING and KIND as well as a multitude of other characteristics we would all benefit from not only receiving, but embracing. I never want a rigid heart as I found I had. I want to forever be pliable and teachable in this life of flesh. How I love our Father!