It’s the first day of school for my daughter, and after she wakes up, I ask her what she would like to eat for breakfast. She replies, “bacon and eggs”. “ There’s no bacon” is my response, to which she promptly reacts, “yes there is!” For a moment I think – I’m the mom. I do the shopping. I know what’s in my freezer. And then I pause for probably just a second and decide to believe her. I head to the freezer, and sure enough, there is a pack of frozen bacon peering back at me. I grab it and take it to the sink and open the tap to quickly defrost the meat so I can cook it. I leave the bacon defrosting in the sink and carry on with getting ready to head out for the day. I pop back to prod the packet and check how the defrosting progress is going. It’s getting there. I head back to my bedroom to finish grabbing my things. Head back to the kitchen, and to my delight it feels soft and ready to cook.
I take the packet of freshly defrosted bacon out the sink, let the water drain down the plug hole and cut the package open. I begin to peel one piece of bacon off the others and find that the centre of each piece is still slightly frozen. Enough to require a little bit of effort to carefully peel it off and keep it as a whole. As I’m slowly and carefully trying to separate each piece, I am reminded of our hearts and more specifically the openness of our hearts to receive the Word of God.
On the outside we can appear to be soft, mouldable, changeable and pleasant. We can put on the face of having open hearts and open hands to God’s will and God’s word in our lives. We can plan to move in a direction quickly and efficiently. We can decide to put into action thoughts and ideas. We can choose how we live. We can be under the impression that we are surrendered and submitted to Jesus and His will for our lives.
But if we take a little bit of time and some effort and begin to peel off the soft layers and mouldable attitudes, we get to a slightly frozen, perhaps hardened heart. One where pride and our sense of independence takes precedence. One where we are not so willing to change, and not so willing to be moulded. One where things will take a tad more time to get ready for the next step.
As I’ve looked at the parables of Jesus over the last while, and been enlightened to the state of our hearts and the effect this has on the acceptance and action of God’s word in our lives, I am encouraged and intentionally pursuing the softening of my own heart. The creating of an open heart to Jesus and his word to me. The longing to create a spacious place, with the right conditions, for God, his word and his will for me to take root, to not be eaten up by the birds, and to not be overlooked and overcome by situations and circumstances. I am stirred to not be like slightly frozen bacon, but to be FULLY defrosted bacon. Ready and available to move into the next purposes for me. Ready and able to go where God wills me to go. Ready and prepared to do what God wants me to do.
I hope you will be FULLY defrosted bacon this year too!
hope of heart 