You Got A Yellow Heart by Sarah Ortiz AKA Dr Theophilus (March 30, 2007)

I am re-posting this with permission from my dear friend Sarah. This blessed me tremendously when I read it in her blog yesterday. I pray that it blesses you.

Love

T

Hello dear reader,
It has been a heavy week. I guess it all started when a friend of mine told me that my heart was too guarded and that I needed to take a risk if I was to fall head over heels in love. Of course like a foreigner I nodded and agreed because I didn't totally understand the language, but after letting the machinery of reason and biblical guidance run through my head, I came up with this reply. The following nugget of theophilosophy is dedicated to all who hope to love and be loved as Jesus loves the church. While for the most part I will address my sister, that is my fellow woman. This applies to you as will my brother, my fellow man.

For some reason as my sister's words collided with my heart, the only scripture that came to my head was Song of Solomon 2:7 ( I won't make you guess). It says "Promise me, O women of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and wild deer, do not awaken until the time is right." What is interesting about this is that there is another translation that says "not to awaken love until it is ready." She repeats this two more times for a total of three.

See dear reader, with God timing is everything. For example, should you decide to have sex two minutes before your marriage vows are uttered, it is called fornication. Should you wait until two seconds after those exact words of covenant are uttered, it is a pleasing and acceptabe thing before the Lord. Why? Because there is a covering there, a spiritual protection, an acknowledgement in the heavens when those simple words are uttered "Till death do us part."

Why then should it be any different before marriage. I truly believe that God has underlying themes in everything. We see it in biology. Smaller units make up larger ones. While they can get frustratingly complex as anyone who has taken a science course knows, there is still an underlying theme of simplicity.

For relationships, it is all timing. For example, a man says hello to his wife in the morning and she hugs him and replies cordially, should he say hello later in the day when he has committed some oblivious blunder that the wife chooses to take to heart, she will reply in a less pleasing manner. Timing.

So what does this all have to do with what my friend told me? Yes I may have trust issues, but I do not believe that I am overguarding my heart, and I do NOT believe that you have to take a risk to fall head over heels in love with someone. Risk, here, is defined as leaving your heart wide open to whatever may come, even though a person may or may not have uttered those words of assured commitment.

I view the heart as a Hope Diamond or a rare Canary Diamond (hence the title). You don't just hand it out like penny candy to any guy who comes into the store. Even if he does have the slickest suit or he looks like he would match well. Unless he makes a "downpayment" or shows that he has the ability to pay for such a precious gift, he shouldn't even have the luxury of taking a glimpse.

To me, a girl who is "taking a risk" and giving her heart away, opening up to a guy who may or may not be interested. Is like the Smithsonian giving away the hope diamond for ten cents because the conoseur acts right or has the right family or is even truly one of the greatest guys in the world. If he hasn't uttered those words of mutual attraction. If he hasn't "fessed" up to being interested. DON'T GIVE YOUR HEART AWAY. I don't care how attractive someone is (attraction being designated as those qualities be they spiritual, emotional, and/or physical that one person desires in another) you cannot base whether or not someone is worth opening up your heart to on overanylized gestures of friendship or words of encrypted interest.

God doesn't want us to go around setting traps for us to get hurt. He has our best interests at heart, which is why he created timing and its emphasis was even placed in redemption. Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that you should never open your heart up or be attracted to somone, but consider the timing in everything, and in everything seek God's face for direction. I have come to find that for every question I have, He has got the right answer.

I beg of you dear reader " Promise me, do not awaken love until it is ready"

Dr. Theophilus