From “Sacred Compass: The Way of Spiritual Discernment” by J. Brent Bill
We need to listen to our hearts. Debra Farrington says that we need hearts that are:
- Wise
- Prayerful
- Attentive
- Learning
- Open
- Imaginative
- Thoughtful
- Engaged
- Patient
- Active
Those are powerful adjectives, especially when applied to the heart. What would it mean for you to have a wise heart? How does an attentive heart feel? Can you imagine an imaginative heart? Thoughtful hearts, engaged hearts, and learning hearts will be different for every person.
We each already have a heart with those adjectives at work in some degree. You might
add descriptors to your heart’s list. As we learn to cultivate the type of heart described by these words, and as we learn to listen to that heart, we will find a deep way to listen to our lives speak. We often lean heavily on our intellect, but, as Farrington reminds us, in the life of going to God, “Wise heads are good. Wise hearts are essential.”