Monday, June 14, 2010

Break My Heart For What Breaks Yours

What a full weekend we had!


Saturday night was date night for Dallas and I, and we made our way over to Olive Garden for some delicious pasta, soup and salad. We don’t eat out very often, and if you were wondering, YES, this meal was also paid for by a gift card. This time the gift card came as a gift from my bosses on Secretaries Day. I don’t know what it is, but I always seem to luck out with gift cards!


Dallas and I always have such a great time together, and I feel so blessed to have him as my very own. Saturday was no different, and Dallas said we should stay at the restaurant as long as possible, to get our money’s worth and to sloooow the weekend down. When we did leave, we had full hearts, FULL bellies and a shopping bag full of leftovers. Yum!

We have started visiting a Hispanic Church here in Lynchburg, Nuevo Amanecer, which gives Dallas a chance to brush up on his Spanish, and is supposedly helping me to learn the language. The members of the church are all very welcoming and friendly, and luckily, many of them speak English.



They also have a great translation program for those of us who enjoy the service, but don’t speak Spanish. I wear a set of head phones, which I typically try to hide in my lap so no one discovers my lacking language abilities. A little man in the back of the room translates the message into English and speaks into a microphone, which transmits to my headphones, allowing me to understand the message. This really is such a blessing.


Last year, when Dallas and I were youth ministers at a Hispanic Church in Georgia, I sat through the service each week, without having a clue. It is such a lonely feeling not understanding what is being said. These headphones help me to feel like a part of the church and also allow me to understand the great sermons preached by the pastor, Sergio Guardia.


While the translation is such a huge help, it is obviously a few seconds behind the original message. This lag causes me to laugh at jokes after the rest of the crowd has stopped laughing. Kind of a give-away that I don’t speak Spanish. Or maybe everyone just thinks I’m a little slow. Either way, it’s a little embarrassing.

Sunday night we were able to visit our “home” church, Living Word Baptist, in Forest, Virginia. The songs that the praise team sings always touch my heart, and this night was no exception. The words of the song, Hosanna, by Hillsong, caught my attention and reminded me of the pain that people are experiencing every day, all over the world.

Heal my heart and make it clean

Open up my eyes to the things unseen

Show me how to love like you have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks yours

Everything I am for your kingdom's cause

We included this song in our wedding ceremony. I think it is such a beautiful reminder of God’s love for his people, and the fact that His heart breaks out of love for us. It struck me last night that if we really got what we were asking for, if our hearts really broke for the same things that break God’s heart, our hearts would constantly be breaking. There is so much pain and sadness in this world, so many people crying out for help. But, more often than not, Christians turn their backs and choose to ignore this pain. If our hearts really broke for these people, we couldn’t help but to act. To do something. Anything to stop our own hearts from breaking.

The speaker at Living Word showed an incredibly touching video, that left the majority of the crowd in tears. It is so inspiring to see my husband tearing up over the lives of those he doesn’t know. He has such a passion for people, and a love for those who are hurting. I have not been able to find a copy of this video, but when I do, I’ll be sure to share it with you, in hopes that it will touch your heart in the same way it touched mine.

I hope your weekend was as full and wonderful as mine. I pray this week that our hearts will break for those who are hurting, and that we will take even one small step towards healing these broken hearts.

My first step will be joining my husband at the Salvation Army this afternoon to serve a meal to hearts that are hurting. What will be your first step?

2 comments:

  1. Wow, I didn't know you had attended that Spanish service, and the fact that they have headsets with English is terrific. That's the first time I've heard of a service being translated for English speakers, that is so nice.
    My first step of service today was pushing myself out of my comfort zone in an effort to get some medical help for a person who really needs it and I am his only chance of getting that help. It's not a service that we usually provide so I am having to talk to people I have never talked to.

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  2. Thanks for stopping by my blog! We actually have a little bit in common - I speak fluent Spanish and have spent many summers translating for various missions organizations in Central and South America (including a summer spent living in the Darien Jungle in Panama).

    Very neat about the Spanish service! I wish we could find something like that here - I would love to practice my Spanish more (I don't really get to speak it much anymore and I find myself having a harder time with it when I do), but my hubby would definitely need the headphones. ;)

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