The Open Heart Challenge

The world stands out on either side No wider than the heart is wide; Above the world is stretched the sky, — No higher than the soul is high. The heart can push the sea and land Farther away on either hand; The soul can split the sky in two, And let the face of God shine through. But East and West will pinch the heart That can not keep them pushed apart; And he whose soul is flat — the sky Will cave in on him by and by.

- Edna St. Vincent Millay

Happy Marriages Require Open Hearts

Recently, as I pondered my life and who I am becoming, I felt a need to improve our marriage and my relationship with God. Without constant, vigilant effort to create a flourishing marriage separation naturally occurs. A wedge is driven between spouses and it becomes harder to connect; conversation slips into nitpickiness, or simply the day-to-day discussion of to-dos and taking care of children’s needs. We forget why we fell in love with our spouse. To counteract this entropy isn’t as hard as one might think. Sometimes I think I make life harder than it needs to be. It is really about the position of my heart. Is it loving and open and kind? With an open heart, it seems you can’t say the wrong thing because your intentions are good and that shines through. On the other hand, with a hardened heart, you can’t ever seem to get it right. I am coming to believe that an open heart is absolutely essential to a happy marriage, yet it’s not an easy task to change one’s heart.