One day
a young man was standing in the middle of the town proclaiming that he had the
most beautiful heart in the whole valley. A large crowd gathered and they all
admired his heart for it was perfect. There was not a mark or a flaw in it.
Yes, they all agreed it truly was the most beautiful heart they had ever seen.
The young man was very proud and boasted more loudly about his
beautiful heart. Suddenly, an old man appeared at the front of the crowd
and said, “Why your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine.”
The
crowd and the young man looked at the old man’s heart. It was beating strongly,
but full of scars, it had places where pieces had been removed and other pieces
put in, but they didn’t fit quite right and there were several jagged edges. In
fact, in some places, there were deep gouges where whole pieces were missing.
The people stared – how can he say his heart is more beautiful,
they thought? The young man looked at the old man’s heart and saw its state and
laughed. “You must be joking,” he said. “Compare your heart with mine, mine is
perfect and yours is a mess of scars and tears.”
“Yes,” said the old man, “Yours is perfect looking but I would
never trade with you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom I have
given my love – I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them, and often
they give me a piece of their heart which fits into the empty place in my
heart, but because the pieces aren’t exact, I have some rough edges, which I
cherish, because they remind me of the love we shared. Sometimes I have given
pieces of my heart away, and the other person hasn’t returned a piece of his
heart to me. These are the empty gouges — giving love is taking a chance.
Although
these gouges are painful, they stay open, reminding me of the love I have for
these people too, and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have
waiting. So now do you see what true beauty is?”
The young man stood silently with tears running down his cheeks.
He walked up to the old man, reached into his perfect young and beautiful
heart, and ripped a piece out. He offered it to the old man with trembling
hands. The old man took his offering, placed it in his heart and then took a
piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the young man’s
heart. It fit, but not perfectly, as there were some jagged edges.
The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore but more
beautiful than ever, since love from the old man’s heart flowed into his. They
embraced and walked away side by side.
How sad it must be to go through life with a whole untouched
heart.
— Author Unknown
Meditation: Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who
comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who
are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by
God. – 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
You will succeed in Jesus Name!