Psalm 22:4 – In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.
“Your brain is just in overdrive.” That’s what a cardiologist recently told me when I was referred for repeated fainting incidents and other weird symptoms. The good news was that there is absolutely nothing wrong with my heart.
The troubling news, though, was that two pretty critical parts of my body seemed to be in conflict with each other. My brain had decided that I was over-stressed, over-tired, and over-troubled; so it was sending signals to calm my body down. Meanwhile, my heart was humming along perfectly well, so those signals actually caused more trouble than good.
How often do the brain and the heart seem to want different things? Sure, I’m experiencing a rare physical manifestation of this; but, if you’re anything like me, this happens emotionally more often than we’d like to admit.
Your brain says that you need to stay in the logical, solid, income producing job that you’ve had for years; but your heart says it’s time to take a leap and try something else.
Your brain says you should probably have a nice vegetable quiche for dinner, but your heart says you’ve had a rough day and a chocolate cookie dough shake would really hit the spot.
Your brain says that it’s not time for your family to get a puppy because you have two small children running around all the time, but your heart says that a furry companion would be a fun addition to your chaos.
Your brain says that you should stay isolated for just a little bit longer to clear the pandemic, but your heart wants more than anything to go give your best friend a hug.
How do you get the brain and the heart on the same page? Sure, we can go with the cliché, simply trust God. 100% agree. Now, how do you put that into practice? How many of you have prayed, “I trust you God. Could you please give me a sign of the path you want me on?” I firmly believe that He is holding the steering wheel of my journey through life, but wouldn’t it help if gave a map? I’m not talking about the metaphor-filled map of the Bible, either. I mean one that tells me what I’m supposed to do to be successful tomorrow.
In all honesty, I have no good advice on how to seek this connection between brain and heart. After all, my brain is certifiably in overdrive, but I thought it might be helpful to at least a few of you to know that there are others out there like you. Perhaps, together, we can figure it out, and gain a bit more peace and trust in God.
Lord, Our brains are in overdrive. Please help us to trust. Please help us to find others seeking that connection between brain and heart and honor you as that link. Amen.