Matters of the heart

The human heart.

It pulses life giving blood and oxygen through our veins and arteries. It also can be broken when we are dealt an emotional blow, swell with pride when we (or someone we love and admire) does something extraordinary. It can be given away to the one we marry. It can be stolen, stomped on and country songs claim it to be "cheatin''.

The heart is physical and emotional.

In 1 Samuel 2:1
Hannah prayed:
"The Lord has filled my heart with joy; how happy Iam because of what he has done! I laugh at my enemies; how joyful I am because God has helped me!"

7 years ago I awoke to hear my mom talking into our answering machine. She was telling us that the squad was at their home because Dad was having chest pains. They were taking him to the hospital.  I felt terrible because I had turned the ringer down to the phone upstairs. I was afraid it would wake our son.

We rushed to the hospital. Dad was rushed from the local hospital via helicopter to a wonderful heart hospital downtown. The cardiologist met with mom and I. We didn't understand the magnitude of what was going on until he told us that they had to place stints in Dad's arteries. He had a blockage that was a quarter of an inch away from being a "widow-maker".  We were all shocked.
Dad was a hard working man who wasn't ready to retire from his job as a lineman for the phone company.

  He was very fortunate... God wasn't finished with him yet.

You see, mom and I went to church together every Sunday from the time I was 5 until I was about 20. Dad would show up for the major holidays and when I would be in a play or part of the special music.

He believed in God but hadn't given his life to him... yet. I prayed and prayed. I was afraid he would never come to know Jesus.

A couple of years ago a very close friend of Dad's lost his battle with cancer. Right before he passed, he gave his life to Jesus.
  Dad was devistated. He says he would go walking (4 miles every day!) And talk to God asking him why would he do such a thing to take his very good friend away from him like this.
 Friends of my parents are both pastors and other friends and famliy had been sharing Jesus with him.
Dad started asking questions and listening to the gospel.

Then one day, he told me out of the blue that he had asked Jesus to live in his heart and was to be baptised a couple of weeks later by their friends.
Hot tears ran down my smiling cheeks. He kept telling me not to cry. I laughed and cried at the same time and told him how happy I was.
He was a changed man. Happy to learn anything he could about Jesus. Hungry for the truth.

His physical heart was good, he was taking care of himself but ended up having several small strokes and a decent one last spring.

Tomorrow, he will go (per his cardiologist wishes) to get a defibrilator implanted.

I know he is nervous. Truth be told we all are a little bit.

Funny thing is I know that God has him in the palm of his hand. He is in control. Even in Dad's young age of 64, God has a plan, a ministry for him.

He's rescued him, saved him, set him apart.

We will pray tomorrow morning as a family. I'm an only child and this part of being an only child (not having a sibling to lean on) is not fun but we will pray and everything will be okay.

Obey the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. Remember the great things he has done for you. 1 Samuel 12:24 GNB

Sharing one of my favorite worship songs with you today,  by Kristene Mueller.

Linking up with Bonnie Gray at her new Whitespace linkup