The Heart Is So Fragile And Shy
Caravaggio. The Penitent Magdalene. Doria Pamphilj Gallery.
The deepest desire of our hearts is intimacy—to be known, understood, and loved.
But we are afraid to be known because we carry deep scars from profound suffering and regrets. We have all fallen short of God’s glory, but we have not yet learned to let those burdens fall away into the abyss of God’s mercy. Our heart wings are so fragile that they break from just a word or a complicated glance, so we keep them folded in for protection. Instantly and unconsciously, we withdraw when threatened like a sea anemone with prickly spines when touched. So, approach with deep acceptance, honoring another’s fragile heart with the language of mercy and compassion.
The compassionate heart is toward and for the other. It emerges from a place in the center of our being that searches and stretches to love and be loved and be free enough to set others free. We have to ask ourselves if we are willing to risk our own fragile heart to connect with another’s. Will we open in a generous willingness to be known and tell our own stories of suffering to offer hope and encouragement to others? Will we tell them with encouraging words and tender eyes that we share their wounded places and that their suffering aches inside our hearts too? We are called to become a place of nourishment for our brothers and sisters, quietly shouldering their pain in the great and holy act of compassion.
Communication has many levels, and we want to reach the highest. The language of the compassionate heart is always upbeat and encouraging. Within every exchange, God is there. In communion with Love, we see every person as infinitely precious and worthy of love. We must try not to leave an encounter with another without offering something for them to take away—a word that will be everlasting. The voice of the Spirit has profound and lasting power that can change another’s heart. To listen for that voice and let it speak through us is our work—and this work is beautiful, far-reaching, and powerful.
The question always before us is how better can we love? Did my eyes and words build confidence and redemptive threads of trust in a fragile heart today? Home is the most challenging place to do this work because we are so vulnerable there. Our self-protective ways can quickly become love extinguishing when we forget to pause and pay attention and receive our loved ones with a tender touch and warm words that telegraph their belovedness and offer them safety. Might we, in humility, open to a new and unselfconscious dimension of love that seeks nothing for itself but offers everything to others?
May my gentle eyes shine Love.
May my merciful ears hear Love.
May my soft hands reassure Love.
May my tender words speak Love.
