A seal upon my heart...

Pre-serve: to keep alive or in existence; make lasting.

One of the most rewarding experiences I've had this summer is learning to can. Thanks to the advice of my Mom and numerous Internet articles, we have different kinds of jam, salsa made from our garden-grown tomatoes, canned peaches, and soon to be spaghetti sauce in our pantry.

It's a simultaneously simple yet lengthy process to preserve food. There are steps to be taken to ensure the safety of things, and steps to ensure the taste. My list-making, task-oriented personality loves it. But after peeling and coring a certain amount of tomatoes, your feet do hurt and your hands do get tired.

As cliche as it may sound, the Lord started speaking to me in my kitchen today about how our lives here, in this habitat that is not Home, resemble a preserving process.

We are grown, we are matured, we are seen by the King and brought into the Kingdom with intention and with tenderness.

We are prepared. We are de-seeded and cored. Wounds and bruises are cut from us. Sometimes this is the part that hurts most.

We are separated, set apart. What we knew during our season in the garden is no more.

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed.

And there are our own respective shares of hot water baths... times when we feel as though we can take no more. Pain...hurt...stress...disillusionment...they surround like a flood. The enemy whispers in our ears, "You will never get out. This will never end."

But then...we are delivered. We are rescued. We are pulled out. What the enemy intended for evil, God meant for good. That which the enemy whispered was our death, was indeed only the dying of our hearts to our selves, and the coming alive of our spirits to God.

He says to me, Do not be afraid...I am your shield...your very great reward.

The King of Kings has invested His time in me, His Spirit in me, to deliver and to preserve me. And everything is clearer now, everything makes sense... when He is set as a seal upon my heart...

Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it. Luke 17:33

-HK