“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.” John 14:1
By Sarah Spradlin
Deep in a warm and welcoming forest,
amidst the stone walls of a great fortress,
there dwells a heart not untouched,
but rather unbroken.
The heart, you see,
is scarred and hurt.
The heart has weaknesses and pain
that no others have seen.
But do not ask the heart for details;
it will not answer but to say:
“I am forgiven,
and so I, too, shall forgive.”
No, the heart realized early on
that, as with all in-looking,
you learn little
from staring at the reflection
and rather focused its efforts
on those without.
Those without love.
Those without hope.
Those without dreams.
For the heart cared for all,
and was, after every wrong thing done,
still troubled when those around it cried,
still anxious when those around it screamed,
still angry when those around it were abused.
There are few left in the world,
like the gentle heart
that saw the miscreants in their flamboyance
and still believed in redemption.
And so the seasons passed,
the leaves turned, the snow fell, the sky stormed, and the rains fell.
The heart’s fortress remained strong.
Many travelled to the heart’s gate,
for it reached out to many,
pulling them close
when the storms thundered,
when the winds blew,
when the fortress rumbled and shook
and when fear lingered in flashes of lightning,
holding someone back
while they stood on the threshold of some unknown greatness.
But, never, did it give itself away.
No, it knew its destiny did not lie with one
but with all.
This heart was driven, after all, to be a guardian.
This heart bore the troubles of other hearts,
whose fortresses were not so strong.
It brandished a valiant sword
before those who had slipped
in the darkness
and who needed a way out.
It extended its hand into the darkness
to grasp the most vile of the fallen
and bring them back to light.
Yes, this heart welcomed all kinds
and this heart saw many things.
It saw the pain someone was hiding,
it saw the despair that to someone was clinging,
it saw optimism despite great and terrible fear,
it saw the great oak in the acorn.
It saw the worms
that try to eat away at the acorn.
It saw the fire in their eyes,
when they were angry.
It heard their livid words
spat at it in fury and hate.
And, yet, it was not afraid.
This heart stood as a sentinel–
as a shield against the inferno.
It has felt those flames before.
But not on its own.
Oh, no, this heart stood as anything but alone.
For this heart loved the King
and gave everything to Him,
though the heart knew
what it has to offer was not much.
And the heart lavished on the King
all its worship and praise.
For it was the King who taught the heart to breathe.
It was the King who held the heart
and taught the heart how to guard itself.
And so, the heart went on,
pouring on others
the love of the King
that was not always gentle,
but was reliably selfless and upright.
It tried very hard, you see,
to shine the flickering flame
of Light in all of the darkest corners.
It sought out the hearts who did not know the King
and loved them even while they were still in the darkness,
for that was what the King did for it.
And sometimes the heart was grieved,
for all did not know that it loved them dearly
and wished for them to succeed.
There are some hearts who mistook its motives
as romance,
or other silly fancies
when all the heart had truly wished
was to give all it had
as a brother, a sister–
never a lover.
But the heart learned to forgive.
The King showed it this.
And so, the heart continued on
as best it could,
learning to dance freely,
to smile often
and to sing loudly.
Its path was not one traveled by many,
and the heart was not vastly understood.
But the heart loved the mystery of it
and treasured all whom it came across.
It prayed and taught and tried to remain humble in all things.
But the heart, too, would slip and fall sometimes.
It would cry and it would bleed,
for sins, you see, are nasty things.
Ever faithful, though, was the King
who forgave and forgave.
The heart loved the King for this
and it praised Him often.
And so life went on for the heart
until at last its journey ended
where it found eternal peace.
And though this heart’s tale has ended,
yours has yet to be finished.
So remember the heart,
for it was the Christian
we should all be trying to be.
But do not ask the heart for details;
it will not answer but to say:
“I am forgiven,
and so I, too, shall forgive.”
No, the heart realized early on
that, as with all in-looking,
you learn little
from staring at the reflection
and rather focused its efforts
on those without.
Those without love.
Those without hope.
Those without dreams.
For the heart cared for all,
and was, after every wrong thing done,
still troubled when those around it cried,
still anxious when those around it screamed,
still angry when those around it were abused.
There are few left in the world,
like the gentle heart
that saw the miscreants in their flamboyance
and still believed in redemption.
And so the seasons passed,
the leaves turned, the snow fell, the sky stormed, and the rains fell.
The heart’s fortress remained strong.
Many travelled to the heart’s gate,
for it reached out to many,
pulling them close
when the storms thundered,
when the winds blew,
when the fortress rumbled and shook
and when fear lingered in flashes of lightning,
holding someone back
while they stood on the threshold of some unknown greatness.
But, never, did it give itself away.
No, it knew its destiny did not lie with one
but with all.
This heart was driven, after all, to be a guardian.
This heart bore the troubles of other hearts,
whose fortresses were not so strong.
It brandished a valiant sword
before those who had slipped
in the darkness
and who needed a way out.
It extended its hand into the darkness
to grasp the most vile of the fallen
and bring them back to light.
Yes, this heart welcomed all kinds
and this heart saw many things.
It saw the pain someone was hiding,
it saw the despair that to someone was clinging,
it saw optimism despite great and terrible fear,
it saw the great oak in the acorn.
It saw the worms
that try to eat away at the acorn.
It saw the fire in their eyes,
when they were angry.
It heard their livid words
spat at it in fury and hate.
And, yet, it was not afraid.
This heart stood as a sentinel–
as a shield against the inferno.
It has felt those flames before.
But not on its own.
Oh, no, this heart stood as anything but alone.
For this heart loved the King
and gave everything to Him,
though the heart knew
what it has to offer was not much.
And the heart lavished on the King
all its worship and praise.
For it was the King who taught the heart to breathe.
It was the King who held the heart
and taught the heart how to guard itself.
And so, the heart went on,
pouring on others
the love of the King
that was not always gentle,
but was reliably selfless and upright.
It tried very hard, you see,
to shine the flickering flame
of Light in all of the darkest corners.
It sought out the hearts who did not know the King
and loved them even while they were still in the darkness,
for that was what the King did for it.
And sometimes the heart was grieved,
for all did not know that it loved them dearly
and wished for them to succeed.
There are some hearts who mistook its motives
as romance,
or other silly fancies
when all the heart had truly wished
was to give all it had
as a brother, a sister–
never a lover.
But the heart learned to forgive.
The King showed it this.
And so, the heart continued on
as best it could,
learning to dance freely,
to smile often
and to sing loudly.
Its path was not one traveled by many,
and the heart was not vastly understood.
But the heart loved the mystery of it
and treasured all whom it came across.
It prayed and taught and tried to remain humble in all things.
But the heart, too, would slip and fall sometimes.
It would cry and it would bleed,
for sins, you see, are nasty things.
Ever faithful, though, was the King
who forgave and forgave.
The heart loved the King for this
and it praised Him often.
And so life went on for the heart
until at last its journey ended
where it found eternal peace.
And though this heart’s tale has ended,
yours has yet to be finished.
So remember the heart,
for it was the Christian
we should all be trying to be.
I love this. ^_^
Glad you like it, Emyli!
Keep writing! Thanks for your encouragement, and I love reading your stuff!
This is beautiful. Great job!
This was such a tender beautiful poem….loved it….