Heart & Armor

Year 7-Day 133: Today, I am grateful for heart and armor.

This was what caught my eye this morning. For Mother's Day, we had the blessing of having all our kids together. Our sons... and their chosen loves. As I watch them interact, this is what I see... heart and armor. It is a beautiful thing. I like to think they learned some of it at home. 

"She is his heart... and he is her armor." It might, also, be turned around to say "He is her heart and she is his armor." Part of loving and being loved in return is to know that there is someone who will guard you fiercely and wholeheartedly. 

It made me think of this scripture:

Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. -Proverbs 4:23   

Hearts are precious. They are the source from which so much flows. When you love and are loved in return, your heart can be pretty vulnerable, but that is what makes love special. It is a choice every single day. 

One of the best things about loving and being loved in return is that our imperfections, faults and failures are covered by that love. It is why love helps us to be brave and to overcome our fears. God gave us marriage... and children... as a model of that kind of love and willing sacrifice. Through love, we find heart and armor. 

For a God who exhaled his own breath to give us life, then took on our skin to rescue us in our messed up sinful state, this verse reminds me how truly naked we are before Him. 

Don’t excuse yourself by saying, “Look, we didn’t know.” For God understands all hearts, and he sees you. He who guards your soul knows you knew. He will repay all people as their actions deserve. -Proverbs 24:12

God knows us inside out. He knows our thoughts and our hearts. He wants us to guard our hearts and the hearts of our loved ones. I am so grateful His love keeps our wells full. His Spirit whispers guidance and encouragement. We are protected from the burning arrows of the enemy when we have heart and armor. 

Today, I am grateful for heart and armor.