What’s in Your Heart?

What makes your heart skip a beat? Is there anything that gets you so riled up, it actually keeps you up at night?

For me, it’s the odd old man who lives down the street. Sounds a little strange, doesn’t it?

If you could see what I see, you might think so, too. Every morning, as I walk my dog, I see this man digging in his front yard. He’s been doing it for weeks, and he’s so focused on his work that he doesn’t even look up as I step next to a bush across the street and allow my dog to do his business.

The shovel goes in. The dirt flies up.

This is the thing that originally started my blood boiling. I became fixated on how I could get this man to notice me. I shouted “hello”. I waved. I called “Good morning.” But nothing worked.

And then one day, just as I opened my door to let my little Yorkie out for his morning run, I saw the guy approaching me. Only he wasn’t approaching me. He wasn’t even looking at me. He was fixated on the ground and the lone, smashed can that was lying there. And then he did something—something so unexpected and yet so utterly perplexing that I paused to take note—he reached down and picked up a discarded can. Then, without missing a beat, he continued walking until he came upon a trash can waiting by the road and tossed it in.

Unassuming. Not a big deal. Just a guy picking up some trash and putting it in—of all things—an actual trash can.

On other days, I saw him step across neatly manicured lawns to retrieve stray papers or water bottles that had found their way out of someone’s careless hands or the whims of the wind on recycling day. Unfailingly, he would find the nearest receptacle and toss it in.

The old man is somewhat of an enigma. Not much of a talker. We haven’t been formally introduced. And I still have no idea why he is digging that hole in his front yard.

But nowadays, I find myself embarking on a morning treasure hunt of my own. I’m competing in an unofficial contest to seek and destroy neighborhood debris with this man I don’t even know. I must beat him at his own game, a game he doesn’t even know we’re playing!

If this stranger who lives right down the street from me, who can’t even say hello or wave to me from his front yard can find room in his heart to make the world a better place, then surely I can find a way to do the same. Because you see—what was in his heart spilled over and filled up mine. Without a formal introduction or even a cursory glance, this man influenced my life in a very positive way.

Now, I’m picking up trash, too. Maybe one day, we’ll both see the same discarded bottle, rush to pick it up, bump heads, and say, “Excuse me. Have we met? I was tidying up the ‘hood a bit. It’s a great morning to be alive, isn’t it?”

“Why yes, yes, it is. Have you seen the amazing hole I’m digging in my front yard?”

We’ll have a nice little chuckle and continue on our merry way.

That’s my dream, anyway. Remember, this is the very thing that keeps me up at night!

What’s in your heart? Is it overflowing with compassion? Gratitude? Love? Responsibility? When you allow what fills you to overflow, you give others the opportunity to lap up a little bit of your gift. And the amazing thing about the goodness that comes from Christ, is that he’s pretty good at multiplying gifts.

All this time, I thought the old man was the one toting a heart full of garbage. But maybe it was me. I’m the one who was so focused on figuring out why that guy wouldn’t talk to me, so much so that I almost missed the fact that he’s a guy who cares deeply about the street we call home. Without ever uttering a single word, the old guy from down the street taught me a valuable lesson about what’s really in his heart. He inspired me, not only to join him in his crusade for cleanliness, but also to figure out how I, too, can share with others what’s in my heart.

“As water reflects the face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.” (Proverbs 27:19, NIV)