A broken heart



There is a quote I have loved for as long as I’ve truly loved God. “Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God." Bob Piece wrote these words in his Bible after visiting suffering children on the Korean island of Kojedo which later led him to start the organization called Samaritan’s Purse. For those of you who used AOL back in the day you’ll remember that you could make a profile for yourself. People could search for you and learn a bit about you through the information in your profile. My first email address was KCH15@aol.com and as a young teen, I added this quote to my profile because these words summed up my heart’s desire.

God answered this prayer and broke my heart for the first time when I was 19 years old and had the opportunity to spend some time in Costa Rica with Teen Mania Ministries. I saw poverty unlike I had ever seen before. I also witnessed a surprising joy in the eyes of children who lived in one room tin houses and ran through muddy streets barefoot. But let me tell you about the clear-as-day moment when my heart truly broke for the first time in my life.

The girl in the pink was a college student in Costa Rica and one of our translators. The gal in red was one of our fellow group leaders from Texas and the one on the far right was my dear friend Drea who was my rock while we were in CR and 2 1/2 years later she was a brides maid in my wedding.
 
One day our team met two boys, maybe 10 or 11 years old, whose fathers had abandoned their families. These two boys now supported their mothers and siblings. They had a weight on their shoulders that no 10 year old should ever have to experience. My team began to load up on the bus when a few of us felt God tell us to feed the boys. We grabbed our sandwiches from the cooler and ran back to the boys to offer them our lunch. Although we wanted to stay with them the bus was ready to leave so we found our seats. I sat in my seat and watched the boys eat my lunch as we drove away. My heart never before had felt such joy and pain all at the same time. My heart ached for these boys. I sobbed as I felt God say to my heart, “You fed me.” Jesus’ words in Matthew 25 verse 40 stuck with me for the remainder of my time in Costa Rica, “Whatever you have done for the least of them, you have done for Me.” I fed Jesus! I fell in love with the “least of them” that day.

Since then, I have fell more and more in love with people. Sure, I still struggle to love many of them but I care more about humans every day. It started with the poor and orphans which led us to adopt our son Judah, to start Bags of Love at our church in Colorado and to eventually start the Backpack program to feed the poor here in Yakima. But it’s grown in my heart even beyond that. Today my hearts aches for those who don’t know Jesus and have missed His hand in their lives.

This morning I heard a song that brought on all these thoughts to my mind and heart. Here are the lyrics that penetrated my heart:

Your love has ravished my heart and taken me over.
Pull me a little closer.
Take me a little deeper.
I want to know your heart.
Cause your love is so much sweeter than anything I’ve tasted.
Your love is so much stronger than anything I’ve faced and I want to know your heart.

Tears came to my eyes as I thought of all those who’ve missed the experience of his love. . . I have experienced it and a life in Christ and with him is so hard to put into words.  The Peace, rest, love and comfort is so sweet!
To wrap it all up. . . one of my favorite songs. . .
So take this heart, Lord, I'll be your vessel
The world to see YOUR LIFE IN ME
 



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