A Porcelain Heart

A porcelain heart, you ask? Yes a porcelain heart. I went to a concert last week that gave me such a beautiful picture of the heart of a Christian, no matter what the circumstance. More will come later about that awesome event, but this blog is for all my friends who have a broken or hurting heart. Not just a lost love, but any situation. First I want to preface with some simple trivia.

Porcelain is a pretty common material in our lives now days. You'll find it mostly in fine china, toilets and sinks, and floor tiles. I've dealt mostly with floor tiles, so we can use that for an example. It starts off simply as clay, colored to the desired hue, is fired in very intense heat, and fired far beyond your average clay tiles. Clay floor tiles are fired at lower heat then simply covered with a glaze fired on to cover the blandness. Porcelain tiles are not glazed and they are solid color all the way through. The greater heat make them much harder and durable than clay. This is why only porcelain tiles can be used outside in extreme temperatures, especially the cold. The others crack. Furthermore, if the porcelain tile is cracked or chipped the color goes all the way through so it is not as easily noticeable. So, porcelain floor tiles are much better and more preferred if you have the budget for it. Ready to buy tile? Keep these facts in mind.

Now back to the Christian heart. The other night in the car I was listening to the glorious song by Barlow Girl titled "Porcelain Heart," again. It is even on the cd twice. It just really hit me how much our hearts are like porcelain. Yeah, it is illustrated in the song, but I came up with all these pictures and facts to further illustrate the point. I guess God was making me think deeper. So, porcelain is a perfect way to think about how God made our hearts.

Our hearts are made of the porcelain, forged in extreme heat and made to be pure and resilient to life's wear and tare. Our hearts are the most sought after part of our being and at the core of our existence. The Christian heart should be stronger to last through the most difficult of trials and when "chipped" remains the same in color all the way through. Plain and simple, they last longer and still look beautiful. But, the heart can be broken and shattered still. So what happens then? Well, ask Humpty Dumpty. No.

I really don't know anyone on Earth who can put porcelain or clay back together again, perfectly, without flaw to be found. You watch the antiques road show and see professionals pick up on cracks and chips that folks tried to fix really well. It just takes away from the value when people try to fix some things. But that's where God comes in and fixes us, "mends" us. He makes us into "beauty once again." No person or thing can do this, only God in His more than sufficient love and grace (don't get me started on another Barlow Girl song). There is probably not anyone who can put a piece of porcelain or clay back together perfect. So friends out there who are broken put your heart in God's hands and let Him make you whole! There it is folks. The bare fact of the Christian heart is out, thanks to Barlow Girl. Actually thanks to God for blessing them with awesome talents and the guts to share it.

Now, I have to put the lyrics here for you because that would be cruel not to. But don't take my word for it, go buy the cd (Another Journal Entry). All the songs are awesome.

Porcelain Heart by Barlow Girl

Broken heart one more time

Pick yourself up, why even cry

Broken pieces in your hands

Wonder how you'll make it whole

You know, you pray

They cry, you say

Something's gotta change

And mend this porcelain heart of mine

Someone said "A broken heart

Would sting at first

Then make you stronger"

You wonder why this pain remains

Were hearts made whole just to break

Creator only You take brokenness

And create it into beauty once again

Melissa, Chris, Crystal, and Amy, this blogs for you. :)

Visit http://barlowgirl.com/new_discography/discography.asp for the lyrics

and a sample of the song.