The word “heart” generally brings to mind two definitions: 1) a large and muscular internal organ that is responsible for circulating blood throughout the body by means of rhythmic dilation and contraction; and 2) the centre of a person’s thoughts and emotions. The first definition describes something physical while the other one describes something emotional so at first glance the two definitions seem to be define two entirely different thing. However if you go deeper and start really examining the heart of these two things (pun intended), you would see that their most important quality is the same: they are both vital for life.
As a hospital employee, I can definitely say that all sorts of emergencies happen in hospitals (thank you, Captain Obvious). As such, emergencies are coded by colour as a way to alert hospital staff in the most efficient way while also not freaking out any patients or families at the same time. For me, the biggest “emergency of emergencies” is the code blue which alerts staff that a patient is in cardiac arrest; This basically means that someone’s heart has stopped working properly due to malfunctioning electrical signals that control the rhythmic pumping of the heart (read: the heart can no longer pump blood effectively anymore). When this code is called, nurses and doctors will immediately run to the patient with a crash cart and attempt resetting the rhythm of the heart in order to restore its function because the consequences of a malfunctioning physical heart are fatal. No physical heart, no life.
In the same way, the emotional equivalent of the physical heart is just as essential for life. An emotional heart that is damaged, hardened, and/or even simply apathetic would result in an experience of life that is completely different from one that is healthy, empathetic, and compassionate; The former would be an experience likely full of disappointment, anger, bitterness, and resentment (which is no way to live), while the latter would likely be filled joy, kindness, and love (which is, really, the only way to really live life to its fullest). Just as a malfunctioning physical heart can be fatal, a malfunctioning emotional heart can also have the same consequence. I mean, can someone be alive but not be truly living? In my opinion, yes. This happens when someone is alive physically but with little to no quality of life which is deeply affected by one’s emotional state which is, in turn, directly impacted by one’s emotional heart. To put it simply: No emotional heart, no life.
Now, please don’t misunderstand me here - I am not saying that someone with a healthy emotional heart would never undergo any hardships, challenges, or difficulties. To say that would just be foolish and misleading and I think we all know life is full of ebbs and flows, high and lows - it’s just a fact of life. What I am saying is the way a person with a healthy emotional heart would respond to adversity is completely different from the way someone with a unhealthy emotional heart would respond.
Okay, now that that has been cleared up and the foundation of this musing has been established (both “hearts” are vital for life), we can move on and focus on the next thing: What is needed for someone to really live. Well, you need both the physical and emotional heart to be functioning well. We have already talked about what happens when the physical heart is functional but the emotional heart is not (the person would be alive but not truly living), but the flip side is equally as bad; If the physical heart is non-functional then the functional emotional heart would be pointless because that person would simply not be alive.
Why is this realization important? It brings to light the need to maintain our physical and emotional hearts to ensure that both are healthy and functional in order to have the best possible chance to live a life worth living. Furthermore, just like anything else, it takes work and energy to maintain these hearts of ours. Most people are aware of what nourishes and restores their physical heart (exercise, healthy eating, sleep, an active lifestyle) and so they now how to maintain it, but unfortunately most people (not all, but a lot) aren’t aware the emotional equivalent which results in neglected emotional hearts. In my opinion, the neglected emotional heart, more often than not, the cause of so many problems that can manifest themselves as both physical and/or mental illness.
So what nourishes and restores the emotional heart? How do we maintain it? The answer is simpler than you might think: love.
Love is what heals a damaged heart.
Love is what softens a hardened heart.
Love is what enables an apathetic heart to feel again.
Love nourishes, love restores.
Love is the life force of our emotional hearts. Love gives us the opportunity to live with a higher quality of life and live lives that are full and worth living.
But let’s take this musing one step further now, shall we? What exactly is love? Well, 1 John 4:8 says, “The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (emphasis mine.) According to the Bible, God IS love, so with this in mind let’s back up and think about the nourishment and restoration of the emotional heart with the truth of the Word.
God heals damaged hearts.
God nourishes, God restores.
Oh my goodness, so what on earth does this mean?
God, Himself, IS the life force of our emotional hearts and His love, Him, alone IS the key for us to be able to truly live. He makes our lives worth it. What makes everything that much more beautiful, more profound, and even more mind-blowing is the fact that He sees us all as people who are worth it. We are worthy in His eyes and He makes it possible for us to live lives that are worthy of living; This a never-ending cycle of Love that can be such a source of comfort and strength if it is recognized as such and if we allow Love to nourish, restore, and sustain our hearts.
Heart, love, and life. These three things are so intimately and intricately connected, and God is at the centre of it all. He is truly the Sustainer of Life in more ways than I could ever imagine or recognize. Praise God.
