The Open Heart Attracts Miracles – Five Minute Friday

I’m linking up with the Five Minute Friday Community today to write on the word of the week as usual.   Because I am working on my poetry books, I won’t be writing today’s post in poetry form (but I did read a poem by Walt Whitman in today’s Poetic Friday Podcast).   Today I’m free flow writing unfiltered and straight from the heart.  The word is OPEN.  When I hear that word, the next word I think of is heart.  I think of both the difficulties we face when having open hearts, and the miracles.  The miracles always trump the difficulties.  I thought I’d write on how the open heart attracts miracles today!

 

 

Open Heart Affirmation by Rebekah

 

 

Years ago I probably would have said that the open heart attracts drama or hurt.

 

I’m generous of heart, tender and giving of myself by nature.  I feel things deeply.  I’m empathetic.  This is the way God made me.  It is my greatest strength and has also been my weakness at times.  Living life with all your senses turned on and with your heart wide open is pretty risky.  I’ve been hurt many times.  I’ve experienced profound losses (some of them deaths, others abandonment).  I’ve even been turned on and bullied by people I called my closest friends.  Some of you know some of those stories as they’ve showed up in the blog.  Some of these stories can never show up on the blog because of their sensitive nature with the people they involve.  I have even been stalked, threatened and had a switch blade knife pointed at me in a car by a passenger when I was driving.

 

Those hurts caused anxiety, panic, trauma, and many shed tears.  They affected my trust and I put up walls.  I made a safe haven around myself where I could be away from drama. That safe haven did not include many “outsiders”.  And let me tell you-  It WAS safe and there wasn’t drama anymore.  It worked.  It was peaceful.  And my soul needed that to heal at that time.  (The wisdom here is: do what you gotta do for yourself to heal in the moment).

 

What I was going through was like some sort of post traumatic stress.  Somehow all those years of stressful events came to a head one day and I crumbled.  I couldn’t be the Energizer bunny anymore who keeps going and going and going.  At some point that battery wears out.  My formerly shy yet outgoing, had lead roles on stage and sung in choirs, did everything you can think of super social self, took a vacation.  Aside from my boyfriend (now fiance) and my parents, I couldn’t really see anyone and sometimes even the phone was too much.  It was all too anxiety producing.  During that period of my life I learned this-

 

If the open heart runs the risk of getting hurt, the closed heart runs the risk of nothing. Wait, no risk?! That sounds pretty good right?

 

EXCEPT-

It causes dullness and a lack of vibrancy, lack of that ALIVE feeling, bitterness, sadness, loneliness, you name it.  How can we experience God’s best from this place?  The close heart runs the risk of nothing.  If you read that again in the literal sense you can see that you don’t gain much by being closed.

BUT-

Here are where the miracles come in…

 

Remember this phrase:

“The Open Heart Attracts Miracles.”

 

 

If you are wishing to attract more of God’s best in your life, more inspired everyday miracles, you must have an open heart.  If you’ve spoken with me, gotten to know me online, or read my blog , I think you can tell how my story ends.   Little by little, like a tender bud opening in the Spring, I began to unfurl.  I now once again live life with my heart wide open, loving people and being brave as I put my heart on the line every day in all of my interactions with this blog, my businesses, and the people with whom I cross paths.

 

Because God says your light is made to shine and not be hidden.

 

By the grace of God miracles regularly find their way to me.  They have for years now- ever since I began to unfurl.  They can regularly find their way to you too.  You see when you put your whole heart out there and live from the FULLness of you, magic starts to happen.  Sure there will be risks and hurts too.  But as you can see from my experience living the closed off way, is it really a better alternative?  The miracle is always greater then the risk.  It would be a 300 page book if I wrote out my whole journey of unfurling (of which I still continue to do as I bloom a little more each year) and all of the blessings that have occurred.  If you want to read the story on one of the places my re-bloom started, click HERE for “Broken Vessels: a Story of Brokenness and God’s Provision.   It started by reaching out to a stranger I heard about on the other side of the country and by knitting prayer shawls for other hurting people.

 

In living life in full bloom, with my heart wide open, I give away much of myself.  In turn my blessings are abundant.  Everything I have received on my inspired living journey is a direct result of an open heart (putting myself out there).  That everything includes my entire source of income working from home, the businesses I’ve had, friends I’ve met, the house we got, dream opportunities I’ve had come my way, juicy surprises and touching heart encounters.  I will be sharing more of these serendipitous encounters in future posts.

 

I’ve written way beyond the 5 minutes today, but in the words of my fiance, “You’ll have that.”

Are you putting yourself out there?  Is your heart wide open to receiving all that God has for you?  Feel free to share your stories, thoughts, etc. on today’s topic.  I always read and reply to comments.  <3

If you’d like an audio of me talking about today’s topic (& reading a Walt Whitman poem) HERE is today’s podcast (website visitors can click the podcast play button below).

 

 

With an Open Heart, 

Rebekah

 

 

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12 Responses to The Open Heart Attracts Miracles – Five Minute Friday

  1. Sarah says:

    Thank you for your thoughts! I find myself in a protective stance a lot of the time, way more than you it sounds like. Great job letting God lead and not becoming bitter and closed off. I’m working on it ;)!

    • Rebekah (We Live Inspired) says:

      Thanks for visiting Sarah! I occasionally have the urge to put on the protective stance, but I remain open. I used to live the protective stance though, so I really get that! You got this. Encouraging you on the way. Feel free to stop back here or leave me a message if you need support <3

  2. Joy Lenton says:

    A beautiful and inspiring word. Thank you, Rebekah! I’m sorry to have become a bit of a stranger in stopping by and leaving a comment here, but I try to keep up with your blog whenever I can. So pleased I caught this one! Blessings to you, friend. 🙂 x

    • Rebekah (We Live Inspired) says:

      It is ok. Life happens and you know you’ve been on my mind! I was joyed to see you here. Will have to catch up sometime (via message). I subscribe to your blog so I try to keep up with the reading too, but need to stop by and leave you a comment. It’s been too long friend <3. Off to bed now, but will pop on over soon!

  3. Dara Tuell says:

    I can so relate to everything you’ve written here. I often have those moments where I need to pull back, to slow down, reduce stimuli and contact. I think you’re so correct that sensitive, empathetic people often need to do this for their own healing. The important lesson is to remember to open again. And again. And again.

    • Rebekah (We Live Inspired) says:

      I never thought of it quite like you put it Dara- that we may go through periods of this and remember to keep opening again and then again and again. I like that as it removes pressure and gives “permission” to pull back again if need be. Thanks for commenting! It is always nice when we can relate to one another in this human experience.

  4. Emma French says:

    This is really inspiring, Bekah! And like Dara, I need a lot of downtime where I reduce stimuli and contact with the outside world so I can find my own rhythm again. But the only way we can have true intimacy and connection is by making ourselves vulnerable, and that requires opening the heart. xx

    • Rebekah (We Live Inspired) says:

      Thanks Emma! Glad you liked it. I never used to need downtime away from people when I was younger, so for me it was such a polar opposite to experience life that way. And yes, WOW vulnerability. It is what connects us all to our mutual humanness and yet it can be quite scary for most. The rewards are so great when we do this though. Thanks for commenting and sharing your thoughts!

  5. LynneJ says:

    Thanks for sharing your perspective; from my own experience I know sometimes we do have to shut ourselves away for a time to find strength within ourselves and realize that we can’t get it from anyone else, and you are so right that once the healing is done, unfurling is so very important…and sometimes just the right person comes along to make opening your heart feel safe and good-true serendipity! Blessings to you on your journey 🙂

    • Rebekah (We Live Inspired) says:

      Thank you for reading and commenting Lynne. Sometimes we just have to do what we have to do! And I love serendipity. The right people popping in at the exact right time is sheer magic 🙂

  6. Corinna says:

    The little stars <3
    It was really nice to hear your voice on the podcast. You have a beautiful voice.
    I was very touched by your story. I am still in the retreat phase of my own story although I become more outgoing again. It is good to read that there is a life afterwards and that it is worth living.

    • Rebekah (We Live Inspired) says:

      The little stars are made for wishing 😀 You always make me smile with the noticing of the little stars here <3. On the podcast- Thank you and I am glad you enjoyed it! There are many parts of my story that are still a work in progress. I really think that there isn’t necessarily a point where we “arrive” (which I found ironic now as I wrote a poem called “arrived” that I read in front of a crowd before my high school graduation). The older I get the more I realize we are always a work in progress as life is an ongoing journey. We just seem to have different phases we go through. “Permission” is my word for 2015, so I say give yourself permission to be wherever you need to be at in your journey today and watch your life unfold bit by bit as each new petal unfolds! Celebrating you too for coming out of your shell more. We are on this inspired journey together. There isn’t only life afterwards- the thing I have found is that there can be life DURING. We create it bit by bit by doing things that delight us and give us that spark of life in the dark places. A little spark is all it takes :D. Then it grows and grows and grows.

      Thanks for sharing part of your story on where you are at in your journey here. I appreciate that!