Open The Eyes of My Heart

     I slid a circle tater tot across the paper toward the baby. "Excuse me?," I said. "Where did you get your baby?," she repeated. I am a white woman married to an Asian man, living in Japan so she assumed my son was adopted. "I am married to an Asian American  man," I said, "I remember the birth quite clearly." "Oh well, he does look Japanese. I have a friend who adopted a Japanese baby," she replied.  

     People base their opinions on what they already know; they are uncomfortable with things outside their experience. As a military spouse, I have had the opportunity to make friends with people of every race and religion. We had service to country in common, and I believe it helped us focus on other common areas. Race is not solely a political issue, it's also a heart condition.
     The word heart is mentioned in the Bible 500-800 times in the the new and old testament. The count varies on translation.Words like God, Lord, Heaven and Jesus bring in huge word counts. But heart is mentioned more than both love and light, in most translations. Bible verses on the heart are powerful and numerous. Examples include: "Create in me a pure heart, O God,  and renew a steadfast spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10), "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (Psalm 73:26) ,"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God" (Matthew 5:8) and "I will give thanks to you LORD, with all my heart, I will tell of your wonderful deeds." (Psalm 9:1)
      The heart is our interface with the Divine. Here, I take heart to mean our true intention or spiritual heart. The physical heart does offer incredible symbolism. It lies at our core and pumps life giving blood to our extremities and essential organs. Much like blood flowing from our beating heart, our intention, when aligned with the Divine, brings love through us and out into the world.

  When my son was a toddler, I would watch him run around the backyard; it was like watching my heart sprout legs and drive a Little Tykes truck. Once I took him for a lung capacity test. He was having a hard time and I found myself wondering if there were a way I could help him breathe. Now he's a healthy, accomplished runner, but I still recall my urge to breathe for him.  
   When people are known to us, we are open to them. Yet, Jesus reminded us that loving those who love us is not difficult. If we focus on what we have in common with others, I think it might coax open the sleepy eyes of our hearts. People of every race and religion love their families, work, struggle and laugh. We are all children of the One. Once the eyes of our hearts are open, I think we work from our highest selves. That's where love flows, and miracles are commonplace.