What does it mean to have an undivided heart?

The Crack

By Shelley M. Reed

NY winters are the worst!  We had spent almost 20 years in the balmy south during my husband’s military career, and now we were back in the frigid north.  Everyone who lives here is familiar with the “dreaded lake effect snow” (the term my Texan husband coined to describe its miserable existence).  It plagues the area bringing often a long 4-month winter.  Our family had moved back into town, and so I obviously needed to be prepared especially after purchasing two Shih-poo puppies who needed potty training.  What were we thinking?

Thankfully, I had my trusty Columbian jacket that I purchased many, many years previously never to be removed from my wardrobe.  It was one of those vintage throwbacks that kept me toasty warm and totally dry.  Did I mention it was ugly?  I didn’t care.  It had a cozy hood and faithfully shielded me from the icy, penetrating wind soaring off of Lake Ontario.  I loved it.

But I was going to need shoes.  

Fast forward to a quick stop at Macy’s where I always go straight to the clearance section.  I just happened to find a separate, tucked-away room upstairs that was loaded with discounted shoes.  Woo hoo!  I was in heaven.  There they were on-sale, light-weight, warm, water-proof, and available in my size…my new dog-walking shoes!  I brought them home and realized these were going to be lifers just like my jacket.  I could slip them on easily and experience cozy, dry feet for the duration of my treacherous snowy treks through the neighborhood.  

Until that horrible morning three months into the four-month winter, I watched this clothing dream dissipate into oblivion.   I experienced an unwelcome, most unpleasant sensation while on my daily morning journey with the pups.  It started at my heels and seeped toward my toes.  Soggy socks!  Frozen feet!  Drenched disdain!  Water?  What?  How?  The thoughts raced through my mind as I raced home to inspect the damage.  I looked and looked but couldn’t find it, but I KNEW it was there…

A CRACK.

A miserable, tiny, unwelcomed pin-sized hole that utterly ruined my sweet and satisfying sense of tropical bliss.   It put an end to my warm, dry feet.  No longer my safe shoes.  They were definitely not going to be like my faithful jacket!

While distraught, I had to laugh as well!  I was preparing a devotion for a group of ladies on the topic of guarding your heart. 

The theme verse was Psalm 86:11 (ESV, Emphasis added)

“Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; UNITE my heart to fear your name.”

I had asked the Lord to give me an illustration of what it looks like to have an UNDIVIDED heart towards Him.  And now, here I was standing in it!  

What does it mean to have an undivided heart, a heart that is crack-free?

On the contrary, what are the cracks in my life?   What is causing my heart to be divided?  While there are so many good things about modern, Western culture, there is a cultural pull to be distracted from the things that really matter, the things of God.  Technology, busy schedules, comfort, relationships, and other issues all can turn our eyes away from God and let that cold water seep into our hearts.  

As Proverbs 4:23 states, 

“Above all else, GUARD YOUR HEART for everything you do flows from it. “

Praise God that He is faithful and merciful, and we can always turn our eyes back to Him when we lose sight of Him.    He desires what is best for us, and that is, a heart undivided!  May we have one focus in our devotion to our Lord and this is Him.

Be alert.  Be careful.  Guard your heart.

Psalm 86:11

Teach me your way O LORD, that I may walk in your truth;

unite my heart to fear your name.

Proverbs 4:23

Keep your heart with all diligence ,

for from it flow the springs of life.