Broken Hearted

I grew up at the time when boys were taught “big boys don’t cry.”  Tears were seen as a sign of weakness.  If you wanted to avoid getting bullied, you soon learnt to swallow down your feelings and emotions.  One of the ways that God has brought healing into my life is the way in which I have been able to reconnect, in a healthy way, with my emotions.    

I was reading, in my Bible, a verse from Ezekiel chapter 36 vs. 26;

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

(Ezekiel 36 vs. 26)

I was a little shocked.  I was expecting the words of the song by Daniel Schutte

I will break their hearts of stone…

I found myself asking, “is a broken heart a good thing?” From a medical perspective, it’s a no brainer!  From an emotional perspective, I was not so sure.

Billy Ray Cyrus told us not to tell his heart, his “Achey Breaky Heart.”  Elvis was dwelling in “Heartbreak Hotel” since his baby left him.  Fall Out Boy have a different opinion when they tell us “Heartbreak Feels So Good.” 

Dula Lipa doesn’t sound hopeful as she tells us, she is falling in love with someone who will “Break My Heart.”

Meanwhile, Blondie is in trouble because she has a “Heart Of Glass” and Westlife have a “Fragile Heart”, whilst Bonnie Raitt is adamant “I Aint Gonna Let You Break My Heart Again.”  As for the Bee Gees, they are totally confused, as they ask “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?”

So, no clear answer there!  Instead, I turned to an old Rabbinical story

A man approached the Rabbi with a question.  He said “Rabbi, I have read that God commands that the Torah should be imprinted on our hearts and minds (Deuteronomy 11 vs. 18 (HCSB)).  Surely this is wrong.  God would want the Torah IN our hearts not ON our hearts.  What do you say?”

The Rabbi smiled and answered “my son, there is a problem with our hearts.  Our hearts can be so hard.  In fact they are so hard, we can only lay God’s commands on them.  When our hearts break, it is then God’s word enters in.”

Perhaps we all need a bit of heart break every now and then.