This Old Heart

This Old Heart has taken a beating. It has been broken, then repaired, then broken again and again. This engine of flesh has urged along the flow of a history of poor choices, many blessings and an accumulation of good intentions. The current condition remains in the hands of Him who tends to all the machinery of similar function. The life is in the blood and the blood does its best work when the freeway like arteries, state routes & avenues are clear of the traffic of sin. The driveway that is just under the skin is where it all begins on any given day and each one should give attention to where he is in Christ before going on that next adventure. We ask Jesus to take the wheel and do the driving in our life and then pray like a backseat driver. You’re going too fast, turn left at the light, speed up or stop and let me out. I’ve been a taxi driver for over 20 years and I don’t appreciate that attitude so I’ve learned to adjust my trust. Then there’s that guy in front of me. He’s not fitting into my agenda and is always doing something I don’t approve of. These days, as the Lord has dealt kindly with me on this issue, I find myself in a forgiving tone but not often enough. Now instead of using words that might imply that his parents weren’t married when they had him, I breathe a simple prayer. Lord, bless that jerk in front of me and the one behind him. It seems to help the blood of the moment flow better. The scripture says that the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (1) Another GPS/direction related item can be found in a proverb. Something God hates is a heart that devises wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, (2) a daily itinerary and a set of car keys if you will. David prayed; Search me O Lord and know my heart try me and know my anxious thoughts. (3) In the end it was his desire to be lead in the path everlasting. We are left to wonder how much illness is related to the ensuing traffic jam in an unforgiving heart. I’ve been in LA traffic. I spent a week there one night and can only say that if the blood was to stop flowing at any point in the road, well the outcome is obvious. I often mutter; what’s the holdup? I should ask, what is the heart of the matter?
Somewhere in this comparison between the heart and what makes the road function I have been all over the grid I know. I drive a shuttle bus at Detroit Metro and as I said I’ve been on the street for many years. I have much road related imagery that I could use here. Much could be said about choosing a direction at this time and if you pay attention to what’s in the windshield you are less bothered by what’s in the rearview mirror. The eyes, they say, are the windows of the heart and I should mention that streaks and bug splatter doesn’t help our spiritual visibility. One should tend to this simple chore before going anywhere. First cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. (4)
So you may be concerned where I’m going with all of this or you may get a witness in your heart to the things I’ve mentioned. If any of it helps with your business travel, I was glad to be of service. An old Amish saying is that even an old rotting sign post along an unfamiliar road can be a blessing to someone who doesn’t know where they are. I know this old heart has been on the wrong road on many an occasion but the Lord is faithful in the end to get me where I need to be in Him. I’ll be looking to see you there.

Happy trails in Christ, Timothy LaVigne

1. Jeremiah 17:9 / 2. Proverbs 6:18 / 3. Psalm 139:23-24 / 4. Matthew 7:5f