On Waking Up, Part 4
The Bold Heart.
Let’s back up a minute. Remember where we left the broken heart? This person was awake to the point of seeing the storm inside they cannot settle on their own. It is intense and unstoppable and they cry out for help. Now, let’s imagine: Like Jesus’ disciples on the boat in the middle of a fierce storm, this person experiences the same wonder and awe they do when He speaks, “Peace be still” to the wind and the waves, and the raging torrent falls silent. They know (like in-their-gut-know) they are in the hands of One who is completely in control, and they know Him to be with and for them. There is a deepening sense that there is nothing to fear and nothing to lose. What could bring me more joy than to spend my days knowing the storm-stiller, and learning to love those caught in the storm?
If only it was ONE storm and ONE experience of peace that set us on this course, right?? It seems it takes many, many, long and ongoing storms. Raging ones. Frigidly cold ones. Rotating weather systems that circle back. Blast cyclones and foggy dreary ones that will not move on. I digress. The bold heart is tougher for me to write about, because frankly I don’t have much experience with it. So for this one, I can just draw you to stories of inspiring examples far greater than I.
Story #1:
Remember the scene in Les Miserables when Jean Val Jean gets caught with the silver that belonged to the bishop? After receiving nothing but kindness from the bishop and his wife after being released from prison, JVJ bolts in the middle of the night with the silverware and is caught by the police during his escape. When they drag him back to the bishop, he exclaims, “Yes, I gave him the silverware, but he forgot the candlesticks! Take the candlestick too, my friend!” (You don’t steal my stuff; I freely give it!!) Anyone would have expected the an angry accusation against him— “How dare you?! After the kindness I showed you?!” JVJ is clearly guilty and the bishop has every right to defend his property. But the bishop has something more valuable than silverware on his mind—he leverages himself as a willing scapegoat to awaken the power of grace in the convict’s life. JVJ knows it when he reflects,
“Yet why did I allow that man
To touch my soul and teach me love?”
The bishop is willing to lose his property, his reputation, his ego, to gain JVJ’s freed heart.
Story #2:
How about Itzhak Stern? He was the untold hero behind Schindler’s List, and the reason Shindler even had a list. Seeing beyond politics and party lines, he befriended Schindler, a member of the Nazi party, and learned to use the weapon of unconditional love. Stern ran Schindler’s enamel factory in Poland that employed hundreds of Jews. Initially Schindler was interested in the factory as a business, a money-making venture. Yet, as his heart changed, he began shielding his workers without regard for the cost. He is credited with saving the lives of 1200 Jews during the Holocaust. It was Stern’s friendship, support, and courage behind the scenes that changed Schindler’s heart. Stern had to see past Schindler’s arrogant, entitled, extravagant lifestyle with a vision beyond his old nature, or he never would have befriended him. By the end of the war, Schindler had spent almost his entire fortune bribing Nazi officials and expanding his business for the sake of taking in and saving Jewish lives. Stern was behind the scenes, with a vision for Schindler beyond appearances, loving his friend with a vision of who he’s truly made to be.
*****
Oh that you and I could have this kind of heart— that for the sake of LOVE, would step into the line of fire unafraid, and have a vision for something so much greater than a “happy family” or a “good life!” During my internship in grad school, I had a fantastic supervisor who helped me learn to name things more honestly and painted a vision for this kind of courage, (and taught this scaredy-cat‘good girl’ to cuss, which honestly just needs to happen sometimes.) I remember her stating this quote,
“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, ‘Wow! What a ride!’”
It captures something, doesn’t it? Setting aside things (I cherish!) such as: safety, protection, and comfort, it evokes something deep within us to envision the kind of bravery it takes to defy the darkness and expend one’s life for the sake of loving others.
How can we get there? Occasionally we may be able to will ourselves to do something sacrificial. Yet, the Bold Heart learns to embody this kind of unconditional love because it is first something they receive from the Author who has offers them an embrace like no other.
