“My Heart Skips A Beat”

Originally Posted Aug. 9, 2021

What gets my attention? What touches my heart? Have you ever had your heart skip a beat…if so, you know it gets your attention ….  whether you’re in a meeting with the Pope, watching the Giants in the Superbowl, or have just won the lottery. Woe, what was that? It’s a signal about life and death, about eternity.

In the midst of the “day in and day out” of life, with all the frustrations and trials and disappointments…what touches my heart? I just heard a Catholic psychologist say that “movies” play that role in his life….. sometimes in a movie he finds himself “touched” by a message or scene… it touches something in his heart… maybe even brought to tears, reminded of something in his past life, something important.

Music can sometimes cause me to pause and think and ponder and even be brought to tears. Music can pull back the curtain of eternity and love. It can cause me to think of various relationships I have had… maybe with dear ones who have passed away. I can tear up as I hear the beautiful melody and think of how I miss them, of how they are gone from this earth, from my life. I will no longer see them again or talk with them on this earth… I will no longer feel their touch or hear their voice or know they are praying for me and hoping for good things to happen to me…experiencing their word of encouragement. 

Those moments often bring up deep emotions, which can even be painful, yet , they help me to know that I’m alive. They cause me to “wake up” and realize that there’s more to life than just the “noise” that surrounds me… the “craziness of the day to day”.  We were made for eternity. We were made for more than the mundane, the day to day …. “the same-o-same-o”. 

Often it seems we need big events to wake us up… a cancer diagnosis for our self or a loved one. Sometimes it’s the death of a loved one that wakes us up and causes us to know “how much we loved and cherished that person….how much we were loved.” 

Yet, God wants this to be our “normal”. He wants us to love and cherish the things of eternity every day and every moment. The things of the earth are passing away.. we can give them a side glance…but not the things of eternity…love of God and love of neighbor. Lord, help us to “kick the can of trivial clutter to the side of the road”… our house and car and bank account and job…even our health and beauty…important, but passing away. 

Lord help us to love the eternal… to love you Lord and to love our spouse and children and family and friends and neighbors. Help us to realize how precious they are. Help me to express that love while I’m able. Holy Spirit show me how to do it… in my prayer, in my acts of service and expressions of caring. Let my heart pause when I think of how blessed I am to know them. Allow me to be moved to tears as I think of them. May eternity always be in our heart and on our mind.