Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Close Your Eyes and Let Your Heart Lead the Way

As I climbed into my SUV today at lunchtime, I turned the ignition and heard those exact words from the end of a Reba McEntire song. "Close your eyes and let your heart lead the way." I often read into music alot and look to songs for signs from Above. I have a feeling this was speaking pretty loud and clear to me. When we venture from our comfort zone and drift into unknown territory, it can be scary. This is when we must let go of what we know and trust in the Lord to direct our way.

Closing our eyes means that we cannot see. But if you think about it, people that are blind deal with this everyday. They must rely on their other senses to guide them, and often with the help of others. They cannot see, they can only mentally visualize images in their head. Being blind would be incredibly difficult, but there are people that live with this disability everyday. And there are those who have become huge successes. I think of Ronnie Milsap, the country music singer who is blind and has played music for many years now. I saw him in concert 2 years ago and was quite inspired by him. So just think, if you are fortunate enough to be reading this, then God has blessed you with the visual ability to see. Thank Him for that!

When we go to bed each night, we close our eyes and hope to get a good night's sleep. So in essence, we cannot see when we are asleep. Sometimes we dream at night so we have visual images in our mind. That is the time to rest our minds and our bodies so that we have energy the next day to go about our daily lives. And if we are fortunate enough to get a good night's sleep, then we usually wake up happy and ready to get the next day started! So closing your eyes is often times a good thing.

Closing your eyes is like walking into the unknown. Have you ever tried closing your eyes and walk around your house and do normal daily routines? I have before just for kicks, and it was much harder than I thought. Even walking with my eyes closed was a trick! I actually had to keep my eyes closed for a whole day (or most of it anyways) when I had my Lasik surgery a few months ago. Let me tell you that was tough! Just try walking to the bathroom without tripping over the cat who is out of food and starving to death LOL. Let's just say it was not a fun evening! Even though I knew my way around my house very well, I still felt a little lost at times.

When we are going through troublesome times, that is normally how we feel ~ Lost. Lost without direction to go. Lost in the world wondering what is to come next in our lives. Now when we feel lost, remember what we are supposed to do and what we should be doing everyday. Turn to the Lord and pray for guidance! Ask Him to guide your way and where He wants you to be. Sometimes you will not get an immediate answer. And that is the hardest part of all ~ I know! Just be still and listen and He will guide you when it is your turn to receive a blessing. Close your eyes and let your heart lead the way.

When we put our heart into something, that means it is something very important and very special to us. Hearts are very tough because they get broken everyday. Unfortunately that is the cold hard truth. Nobody wants their heart broke, but it sometimes takes a heartbreak to get to the next step in your life's plan. Have you ever heard the expression "follow your heart?" That is what God wants us to do. If we believe in something so much with our heart and soul, then follow that. Simple as that. Don't give up on it if it's in your heart, but do be aware that sometimes what is on your heart will change over time. It will change with the tides of life that roll in and out.

Be careful to not confuse your heart with your head. So many times we think of something in our heads, or we think the Lord has led us a direction because of what we believe in our minds. Or we put a visual image in our head and we are going to pursue it no matter the cost because that is what we want. It goes along with the theory we always want what we can't have. We are all guilty of it at some point in time or another, more often times than not! But if we truly believe something in our heart, than we know it must be real. So we should ALWAYS listen to our heart along with guidance from the Lord. And if we can do both of those things, we will lead the happiest and most fulfilled life possible on this earth! He will never steer us wrong; we just have to listen to Him and be willing to accept what life throws at us along the way.

When we have something on our heart, it becomes a passion so big that we cannot control it. It is absorbed into our mind, soul, body and spirit whether we like it or not! When we believe something with our heart and soul, we can't help but be led by whatever it is that is in our hearts. Now the trick to all of this is how do we differentiate if something is in our head or our heart?

That is one question I would love to ask God above. I have no clue to the answer, but if you do, leave me a comment with your insight! I do know that following my head will normally lead me somewhere I do not want to go or somewhere I will regret in the long run. But when I follow my heart, it will lead me true and put me where I am supposed to be in this world. If you do not know if something is in your head or your heart, my only advice to you is to pray about it. Ask God to speak to you in a way so that you understand whatever it is you are dealing with. Ask Him to help you know what is right and what is wrong at that moment in time. Sometimes things in our hearts can change over time, but once someone or something is in your heart, it does make a permanent indention in your heart that will be there for eternity.

Remember when closing your eyes, let God lead your way to following your heart in this world. Be open minded and ready for change because that sometimes happens when we least expect it! I have had so much thrown at me in the last few days; things I never dreamed of. It's a time for me to sit back and stay still. Time for me to reflect on where I am in life, where I am going, and what I want out of life. All this is completely possible with God by my side who will not steer me wrong. I have to be patient and willing to listen to get where I need to be. So remember this theory is a good one ~ walk blindly and listen to your heart and you cannot go wrong. If you can see exactly where you are going, that isn't always a good thing. If you cannot see where you are going, enjoy the ride along the way and learn to listen to the Lord. For when the time is right, your eyes will be opened and listening to your heart will get you where you need to go. So try it today, close your eyes, drift off to dream world, and let your heart guide you. Just don't be fooled by your head because you don't want to end up in a snow drift when you could be in tropical paradise!

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