” I have a heart for the homeless.” These are the words a young woman who was visiting our church said to me yesterday. She had made her way into our worship space after the service was over and the community had gathered along tables to make sandwiches for the guests who come to our Dignity Center, a ministry with homeless and others who live in various stages of transition. I had already met her and answered questions she and the young man who accompanied her had asked. It was an engaging conversation. Then I moved on to the next encounter allowing them both to look at the beautiful art in the room in which we worship. But some time later I noticed they were still in the room and were walking away from the table where people were finishing up their assembly line of sandwich magic. Bags of ham, turkey and cheese nestled between two slices of bread were now stacked and ready to be placed in the refrigerators for the hungry people who would make their way to us over the next days.
I approached them and asked if they had been roped into making sandwiches as well. That’s when she turned her earnest, confident young face toward me and spoke. ” I have a heart for the homeless.” Something in her words moved to a place deep within me. I believed her. I had no idea what action her heart had led her to make up to this point in her life but I trusted that it had. After answering her further questions about the ministry of the Dignity Center, I again moved on with my day. But this young woman’s words continued to roll around in my head and, I suppose, my heart. I wondered about all the things we ‘have a heart for.’ I also thought of the many times we struggle trying to find out what this longing is.
It’s an interesting phrase isn’t? To say one has a heart for something is one way to say this is what we love, this is what we care deeply about, this is what brings a certain meaning to living. I know people who have a heart for music. Without the ability to make music, to listen to music, to discover some new musical sound, these people would be desperate. I also know people who have a heart for teaching. They are the ones who always have some new book they are willing to share, some specific way of explaining a concept, a light in their eyes as they offer an idea or a thought.
There are those people who have a heart for children. You can watch these folks search out the young ones in a room, making eye contact, engaging them in a way that honors their age and doesn’t seem condescending as they interact. It is a gift to behold. And there are also people I have known who have a heart for the elderly. Their deep listening, their ability to be fully present in a way that rushes nothing, waits at just the perfect pace, giving respect and dignity. It is an offering that is pure blessing.
At some point of our living, it is important to discover what it is we have a heart for. I know of no particular way to make this happen except to pay attention……to what surprises…..to what brings deep joy….to the gentle fluttering at the pit of the stomach….to some deep knowing that cannot be overlooked. These are good indications that heart work is happening.
What do you have a heart for? Have you discovered it yet? In the Christian scriptures, Jesus is said to have offered these words in teaching the people: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” May this day have each of us knowing the fullness of what it is we treasure. May this day bring us all closer to what it is we have a heart for…..
