Heart Quake
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February 9th, 1969, a little girl’s heart was broken when her daddy climbed out of a window and left her and her sister and their mother in the middle of the night. My memories of that time are a little foggy because I was so young, but I think it was the days after that I recall even more. The song “Daddy’s Home” played on the radio about the same time every evening, and I remember always waiting at the living room window to hear my dad pull up in his loud, rumbling car. Maybe the song only played at exactly the same time once, but it feels like every time because of how the memory is cemented into my mind.
Fast forward to February 9th, 1971, at 6:01 AM Pacific Standard Time. Our new apartment was in Sylmar, California, and just blocks from the San Fernando fault line. The earthquake registered 6.6 on the Richter Scale, and the shaking woke me up when it knocked a chest of drawers over and slammed it into our bedroom floor. I jumped down from my top bunk and ran to the kitchen yelling, “Mommy, Mommy, there’s a monster shaking the house!” Hmm, maybe my mom and step dad babysat us with a few too many Godzilla movies. 😁 Anyway, she told me it was an earthquake and that I should pray. Then she ran barefooted across broken dishes to get my sister out of her bed and put both of us in her room under lots of blankets. It was one of her most motherly moments.
Through the years, there have been other events on February 9th that seemed to make me wary of the day every year. Not every year, of course, but enough to keep me a bit on edge at this time each year. Today, though, it was the exact opposite. First, I was able to get outside in the sunshine for the first time in 2 weeks. Then I got some time to visit with my sister over the phone. And, best of all, I got news from my friend that her husband’s cancer was only on the tongue and not in the throat as they suspected, and the doctor even came out of surgery smiling. So, this year flipped the script and brought some really good events to this date.
The heart can quake or shake for a million reasons, and often those quakes leave cracks that don’t go away easily. But those who follow and serve The Lord know how the Balm of Gilead (a healing medicine) can calm the shaking and even repair some cracks. Jesus, not only our Healer but also our Comforter says this in John 14:15-18 KJV…
[15] If ye love me, keep my commandments. [16] And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; [17] even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. [18] I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
https://bible.com/bible/1/jhn.14.15-18.KJV
As we continue through this heart and love month, remember that there is a God who is not “somewhere OUT THERE” but is actually near to us whenever we seek Him. He desires to share His love with us so much that He provided His own blood to cleanse us, so we could come boldly into His presence to get what we need. If you are a reader who has never received salvation, just speak out to Him with a pure heart and tell Him you want to try things His way because you’ve heard it can be much better. Tell Him the truth about everything, and then bring Him your brokenness. Watch Him work and bring you love beyond words and peace beyond understanding. 🛐🕊️☦️
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God Loves To Repair Broken Pieces
I have a statement in a few of my bios about how I like kaleidoscopes because I feel like they represent how God sees His creations; they are all beautiful when light, especially God’s Light, shines through them. God is the Master of repairing broken things, and He’s uniquely able to repair broken hearts like no one else can.
The image I made tonight is a representation of a Japanese art form called “Kintsugi.” The article on Wikipedia doesn’t have a lot of images, so do a search to see some amazing transformations, but the link with the word goes to Japan Daily, so it’s got history and images. It’s a Japanese art form of repair done with real gold showing through the cracks and making the restored object more valuable than the original when it was unbroken.
Now, imagine something with even more value than gold (God’s touch) filling the broken places in human hearts and what the value becomes with God’s Holy Spirit making us whole. This clip from the movie Joshua with Tony Goldwyn demonstrates it beautifully and still makes me cry.
If you haven’t seen the movie, it’s old but I highly recommend it. And on the subject of recommendations, I also recommend a wonderful story about a broken woman and her battle to repair herself before letting God do the mending. It’s in the book “The Story of With” by Allen Arnold. The tag line might make you think it’s only a book for creative people, but it’s an amazing and life-changing story that combines a Bible study with a fictional allegory. My sister, who’s not much of a reader, finished it in 2 days and said every Christian should read it. My affiliate link (for tracking) is https://amzn.to/4agQfqu and I’d love to hear comments from those who read it. Also, here’s a video review from someone who read it…
And, finally, just because it sums up the story of someone who loves to see brokenness repaired, here’s a video of Guy Penrod singing The Talley’s song, “She Loves the Broken Ones”…
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When God Writes a Heartbreak Song
Forgiven [ Redeemed [ Restored [ Reborn [ & Set Free by Flickr User ashley.adcox, CC License = Attribution, Noncommercial, No Derivative Works
Click image to open a new tab/window to view the original image with a wonderful testimony about God helping this girl overcome depression and changing her life, and to access the user’s full photo stream at Flickr.
In today’s reading, we will find God commissioning Moses to write a song for Him. His reason for wanting it written will show His broken heart. I’m going to link to Deuteronomy 31:19 through Deuteronomy 31:23 because that covers the subject completely. However, for some reason, the way the verses are divided had the reader ending yesterday with one line about the song and ending today with half a sentence and at a comma. Still, if you want to see the exact daily portion, look at Deuteronomy 31:20-24.
The reading, including the last sentence from yesterday, begins with God telling Moses and Joshua to write a song and teach it also to the children of Israel. God says He wants Israel to learn it by heart, so it can be a witness from Him and against them when they violate the covenant. He says that when Israel comes to her inheritance and has eaten her fill, grown fat, and turned to other gods while hating Him, the descendants will still be singing the song and not have forgotten it. God tells Moses that He knows how Israel thinks now, and that her thoughts were the same even before He brought forth the promise of the new land.
So Moses writes a song the very same day, and he teaches it to Israel that very day. At the same time, The Lord commissions Joshua, the son of Nun, to be strong and courageous as he brings Israel to The Promised Land. He reminds Joshua once again that He (God) will be with him (Joshua) as he leads the people to their inheritance.
So Moses is not only God’s scribe, he’s also God’s lyricist. Unfortunately, the lyrics God wants Moses to write will carry a painful message to all those who stand against God in spite of how good He has been to them. Most of us want to hear nothing but hope and mercy and love, but there are times when it takes a song for people to truly understand heartbreak. Country music has always been very good at that in the form of what they always called tearjerkers. I’ve always liked those types of songs (think Dolly Parton’s Me and Little Andy, or Red Sovine’s Roses for Mama) even though they provoke sadness. Sometimes, a little sadness can help us look at where we stand; be it in gratefulness or in self-examination.
You know, it’s easy to think of people and their needs when they’re brought before us. It seems the news and other television shows are always interviewing someone who talks about what they or someone else does or doesn’t deserve. Oh, but what would happen if we all began to think of what God does or doesn’t deserve? He deserves our trust. He deserves our devotion. He deserves our praise. But He doesn’t deserve to have a broken heart or to need a song written about it. What do you think God deserves from you?
Here’s the video of Does He Still Feel the Nails (with lyrics)…
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September 18, 2014 Posted by Crystal A Murray (aka CrystalWriter) | Bible Study, Nonfiction, Torah Commentary | Bible Commentary, Bible study, broken heart, Complete Jewish Bible, Deuteronomy, God's heart, heartbreak, Israel, Moses, Scripture, sin, tearjerker, Torah commentary, Torah Portions | Leave a comment