A “Broken” Heart
We had the blessing of having one of our adult sons
with us for our home Sacrament this morning before he left for his own home,
and he mentioned something about having a broken heart which greatly impressed
me.
We often associate having a broken heart with undergoing
a process of sorrow, grief, suffering, refining, being compelled to be humble
and other connections. And these are all
very true and real sources of causing us to enter into a state of humility
where we can become teachable and moldable. But these associations seem to indicate a
condition of punishment rather than love.
But there is also another definition of what it
means to be “broken.”
Just think of the relationship between a skilled
horseman and his trusting steed compared to someone trying to hop onto a wild
horse. The wild horse will buck, snort,
kick and try to throw the rider from his mount at all costs. And a “worldly or natural” man might seek to
break that horse through a process of harsh punishment.
But a truly skilled and master horseman approaches
the relationship like that of a “horse whisperer”, lovingly establishing an
unforced relationship of trust and companionship. Such a horse which is “broken” in this loving
manner is actually in a complete relationship of trust with its rider. A skilled rider and his faithful horse have a
relationship of love and trust almost as if they can read each other’s thoughts
and intentions of where they need to go.
As such, the master rider often rarely needs to pull on the reigns
unless he can foresee a danger or knows that a different route should be
taken. But often along the journey he
trusts the horse’s instincts to keep them moving forward towards the desired
end goal of their journey together. It
is a joint relationship where two beings become almost as one.
I love that thought and definition of what it means
to have a “broken heart” in our relationship to the Lord. It is not merely existing in a state of
sorrow or imagined punishment to keep us in a state of submission, domination
and control. But rather, it is allowing
the Lord to “bridle our passions” and allowing His gentle and loving hand to
guide us, as we move faithfully forward, trusting in His divine understanding
of the best way to help us reach our desired destination. It is a trusting, joint relationship of love
which allows us to actually fulfill the measure of our creation and allow Him
to be with us through the entirety of the journey, instead of trying to buck
Him off and out of our lives when we don’t like the direction His gentle
leading tugs on the reigns are guiding us towards.
A truly “broken” and faithful horse loves its
master, and derives joy from being with him, and helping take him where he
needs to go, and is pleased to be of service to the master. And a loving master always leads his horse to
fresh waters and green pastures, but also knows when pushing it at a faster
pace is required to get where they need to go.
If we could only learn to be “broken” in a similar way
to allow the Lord and His Spirit to guide us, we would avoid many unforeseen snares,
stumbles, vipers and hazards and instead find ourselves traveling safely along
the straight and narrow path which leads to eternal life… all the while
realizing that we are not doing it on our own, but under His loving direction
and actually enveloped in His embrace.
