| Review – A Patchwork Heart |
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by
Kim Moore & Pam Mellskog
Review by Tom Gilbert
What we often think is beauty is mistaken. We want
perfect form. Unmarred and clean. Deformity, injuries and scars are unpleasant to behold.
Jesus showed us during his time on earth that compassion
and help for the hurting people of the world is
a necessary part of loving. Ultimately his death
on the cross as the way to take away our sin also
showed us that the path of suffering is a much higher
calling than seeking our own comfort. Most of us
don't like to think of the beaten, tortured, ravaged
and scarred body of Christ. But, that's a very real
part of the story.
We can learn that our suffering and our hurts can
be the way of healing and growth in our lives, as
well as the lives of others.
This book deals with one of my favorite subjects--selfishness.
Or is it compassion? They are diametrically opposed
to each other, yet connected. So often I find my
capacity for compassion is minimized by my over-inflated
self-importance and ego.
A
Patchwork Heart(Navpress) opens with a parable
about two women and the appearance of their hearts.
A young woman has an unblemished heart, beautiful
to behold. It’s not marred or deformed in
any way. The other older woman has a heart that
beats strong, but with many scars and patches. There
are even gaping holes in it. Her heart is really
the “beautiful” one, for she has given
pieces of it to many others, and some have given
pieces of their heart in return.
Kim Moore and Pam Mellskog do a marvelous job in
this book of helping us perceive areas of our life
where we can soften our hardened hearts, let go
of selfishness, be willing to help (especially when
it’s not convenient), and to always remember
God is the director. Sometimes He will lead us out
of our comfort zones. Other times He will show us
we are trying too hard on our own to help or fix
others without relying on His perfect direction
and love.
God will always work with us in the areas that need
improvement. It’s sad to often see how my
“high-bottom” problems have caused me
such distress when there are so many others in need
of real help. Apparently the authors have experienced
the same.
Throughout the book we are called to put ourselves
in the place of others in honest empathy. We are
also reminded that the choices of others are not
our problem, but we must still be attuned to the
spiritual blindness of the many lost souls in the
world. Jesus is calling upon us to continue His
work here on the earthly plane.
I was particularly struck by the chapters, Tuning
Your Ears, Compassion Squelchers, and
Faith Adventures. Solid reminders that we
must be listening for God’s direction (not
just having a one-way conversation in our prayers)
and being open to amazing and miraculous events
to occur in our lives and the lives of those we
help when we do turn it over to God. We must watch
for the things that rob us of a compassionate heart:
fear, prejudice, time, complacency and selfishness.
God gives grace, but does He not do so through his
children? We can be conduits of that grace in our
compassionate loving of the many hurting people
we encounter. Some of them need comforting. Some
need challenging. Sometimes we must set boundaries
and show some tough love. Always we must be patient.
A
Patchwork Heart has a wealth of tips and
tools to apply in real life situations. The book
also includes a ten-week Bible study of probing
questions and specific scripture verses to guide
you on your journey.
Our pride must be demolished. Our hearts must be
enlarged. Once we are in a situation where we need
something, such as compassion, we suddenly get a
greater appreciation of it. Still, nothing teaches
us like doing. Faith without works is dead. Find
somebody worse off than you and try to help them
and it will work wonderful surgery on the spiritual
state of your heart.
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Scripture taken from
the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright
© 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society.
All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by
permission of International Bible Society.
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are
registered trademarks of International Bible Society.
Use of either trademark for the offering of goods
or services requires the prior written consent of
International Bible Society.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from
the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright
©1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House
Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189, USA. All rights
reserved.
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