I am constantly amazed–and delighted–at the connections Christians find with each other. No matter our age, job, background, geography, or denomination, we have one Father, one Lord, one Spirit!

Our thoughts today are from a guest, Vi Brown.

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Willing Heart
by Vi Brown

I was on the same on-line forum discussion about religion/spirituality with Elaine and other writers a few days ago. As a result, she asked me to be a guest contributor on this blog. I was delighted and accepted.

I have been a Christian for under a decade and spent several decades with my spirituality on the back burner. I was not praying nor relying on anyone but myself. I did believe in God, but he didn’t have much relevance in my life at that time. I didn’t know what to do about God since I had rejected the notion of formal religion many years ago.

Many of the people on that forum expressed similar sentiments. There were some Christian writers who responded to them in a gentle way and it could be that a few heard some truth. Mother Nature or Energy was the focus of some writers. Others, however, engaged in unpleasant dialogue and relied entirely on their own logic and proclaimed that there was no God. This group dismissed everything. I don’t think they wanted to understand anything else. They couldn’t see beyond themselves. It reminded me of the following scripture-

In them is fulfilled the prophesy of Isaiah:
“You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
You will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
For this people’s heart has become calloused;
They hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears,
Understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.”
Matthew 13:14-15

Even though God wasn’t a conscious part of my life, I feel he protected me all those years. I never turned to any cults or new age beliefs. In fact, I could never understand those who prayed to Mother Nature instead of God, the Creator. If you were served a lovely dinner, you wouldn’t praise the mashed potatoes and pork chops but the chef who created the dinner!

Over the years, I had become spiritually thirsty. One day someone who had a personal relationship with Jesus crossed my path. I was led to the Lord and my life began to change. It is an ongoing process. I am grateful that, by his grace, my heart remained open and that I was able to ‘see and hear’.

Even if we don’t keep track of God, he keeps track of us. If we have a willing heart, he will take care of the rest.

The Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.
1 Chronicles 28:9

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About Vi Brown: Vi lives in British Columbia, Canada. You can view her writer’s profile here: http://www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/vibrown