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Tell Your Heart to Beat Again

"Yesterday is a closing door
You don't live there anymore
So say good bye to where you've been
And tell your heart to beat again."
   ~Danny Gokey, "Tell Your Heart to Beat Again"

Today is Valentine's Day, a day where we celebrate love. While for most, it is a happy occasion, it can be torturous for those who are broken hearted. All the talk about and overt displays of affection remind them of all they no longer have. I know, because I used to be one of those people.

After losing my grandmother 12 years ago right before Valentine's Day, I hated the holiday for a number of years. The joy of the holiday was overshadowed year after year with the reminder that I would never see my beloved grandma again, and that she would miss many important events in my life, like watching me graduate from high school and get married. I knew that she was in a better place, and that she wouldn't want me to be sad, but that didn't change how I felt.

Then about six or seven years ago, after much prayer and tears, God finally broke through the walls surrounding my heart, and I rediscovered the love I had for the holiday when I was a child. Yes, the anniversary of Grandma's death still falls just a few days before Valentine's Day, but it affects me less and less every year. In fact, this year I didn't even think about it until two day after it had passed. I still miss her, but it's been long enough ago that my sadness is overshadowed by the joy that Grandma is up in Heaven, and is perfectly whole again.

If you're like me, and see the holiday as a source of dread rather than a source of joy, God is ready to heal your heart the way he healed mine. The broken places will be mended as His love fills the cracks. If we'll let Him, God will use our brokenness to bring us closer to Him. Brothers and sisters, reach out and hold on to this truth. He is always listening to our prayers, and loves us more than we can ever understand or deserve. So if it feels like your heart will never be whole again, pray for God's healing, trust that He hears your prayers, and tell your heart to beat again.

Danny Gokey-"Tell Your Heart to Beat Again"

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