|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
“I will make room for you to do whatever you want to,” say the lyrics to a song titled Make Room. But what exactly does this mean?
God made me and knows how many hairs are on my head. He certainly knows every inch of my heart and all it contains: love, dreams, hopes, worries, fears, and hurts. Our joys and sorrows, our victories and failures.
Basically, it holds a lot!
We live in a loud, busy, broken world, and our hearts can become cluttered without us even noticing. This isn’t our failure. We carry responsibilities, care deeply about people, and experience things that take time to work through. God wants us to bring all of this to Him.
I really like how the Catechism of the Catholic Church describes the heart in paragraph 2563:
“The heart is our hidden center, beyond the grasp of our reason and of others; only the Spirit of God can fathom the human heart and know it fully.”
Our hidden center. The place where we pray and withdraw to meet with the Lord. This is the interior place I have been calling the Garden of the Heart, where the Lord reveals Himself to us, and we learn more of who we are in Christ.
A Little Interior Housekeeping
One day, during a busy season of raising children, all the activities, a home, and ministry, I went into a chapel. I longed for the quiet and stillness that eluded me in daily life.
I settled into the chapel pew and took a few deep breaths to leave the world behind. Just as I finished exhaling, the cleaning crew came in.
I thought to myself, Really? Are you kidding me? I came in for quiet, and it’s cleaning day.
I whispered, sarcastically, “Great.”
Well, being the distracted person I am, I started watching the cleaning crew move about the chapel as they dusted surfaces, organized books, and swept and mopped the floors.
Suddenly, I realized this chapel cleaning wasn’t just an interruption of what I thought was my quiet time. The Lord was trying to get my attention.
Watching them clean the chapel reminded me that interior chapels need care too. I had come seeking quiet around me, but what about the noise and clutter within me? What had accumulated in my heart that needed attention?
Be Still and Bring Him What We Carry
So how do we begin making room for the Lord?
We can accept His invitation to withdraw for a little while. Find a quiet place, put down the phone, and pause. Give ourselves a few moments to notice the Lord’s presence.
Our hearts may need a little time to settle. Just because we have closed a door doesn’t mean we have left all our thoughts and concerns on the other side.
We can begin with a simple prayer: Lord, I am here. Then, as we become still, we can notice what we are carrying.
What keeps coming to mind? What are we worried about? Have we pushed aside a hurt or avoided acknowledging a disappointment? Is there something good happening that we haven’t paused to thank Him for?
Making room for God asks us to trust Him with what we find within us. Some things may need healing. Some may need surrendering. Others may need to be spoken aloud in His presence.
We can let the Master Gardener show us where He wants to begin.
Linger a Little Longer
After we share what is on our hearts, we can make room to listen. I know how easy it is to fill prayer with words, intercessions or petitions. But perhaps we can linger a little longer. Pause. Ask Him a question and give ourselves time to listen. It is in listening that we can receive.
We may become aware of an invitation to forgive, to loosen our grip on something, or to trust Him with a situation we cannot resolve. We may simply spend those few minutes quietly with Him.
Some days, our minds will wander, and the quiet will feel uncomfortable. Don’t be discouraged. This is part of learning to abide: to remain with Him, to welcome His presence, and to wait in trust as He tends our hearts.
When I think back to that cleaning crew, I smile. I came to the chapel with a plan for my quiet time, and the Lord met me through what seemed, at the time, like an interruption. He knew we needed to tend to my heart. He always knows what we need.
The One who made our hearts knows how to care for them. We can trust Him enough to make room for Him in the Garden of our Hearts.
An Invitation to Make Room
This week, take a few quiet moments to enter the Garden of your Heart. Bring the Lord what you are carrying, and linger a little longer.
Lord, I am here. I want to make room for You. Show me what needs Your care, and teach me to trust You as You tend the Garden of my Heart.
