“Paying attention to what He cares about — the inner workings of our hearts — is a gentle process of excavating. We can’t know the anxieties and fears to bring to God unless we first notice them. He understands the intricacies of our hearts, but we have to first notice them before we can ask Him for that understanding.”- Sara Hagerty
“Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.”- Psalm 51:6 (ESV)
Sara Hagerty concludes Chapter 8 of The Gift of Limitations as she stresses that it’s worth our attention to respond to our limits. Yet, we often ignore and shame our heart with phrases like:
- “Why can’t I get over this?”
- I don’t know why it feels so hard.”
Most significantly, Sara states, God gives discernment to those who ask for it. But in order to know how to ask, we must pay attention. Thus, it’s crucial that we see the larger story that predates the current circumstances. Because that give us the ability to both have and hold context for an individual moment. It also enables us to grow through a limit that we view as terribly restrictive.
Therefore, Sara exhorts:
“The rudders inside of us — the secret ones, the hidden navigators — lose strength when we see them for what they are and where they land within our stories and name them. They lose muscle when we talk to God about them. . . .
When we name the emotions we’ve spent a lifetime avoiding, we let God shine a light into a well-established cobwebbed corner of our hearts, but one that doesn’t always need to be there. Oh, the refreshment that light brings.”
In conclusion, Sara underscores that self-awareness can start as small and simple as noticing:
- our hearts racing on a long day.
- how your pent-up emotions need the release that comes when you find your heart inside you.
Today’s question: What Bible verses call your attention to God’s gentle process of excavating? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Slower still – invitation, gift”
