Heart Abandoned

I'll stand...with arms high and heart abandoned.

That's a line from the song The Stand by Michael W. Smith. I was listening to it tonight as I drove home, and is was struck by the phrase, "with heart abandoned."

What does that mean?It occurs to me that heart abandoned might be love, given freely and without reservation. I've abandoned my heart to my husband, to my children, to my family, to my close friends. I stand with heart abandoned.We wonder why there is suffering. I wonder if a small part of the reason is that our hearts are abandoned. When do we suffer? We suffer when a loved one is ill or dying, hurt or lost. We suffer because we have abandoned our hears.

Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it. Luke 17:33
If we didn't love, then the other person's pain or loss wouldn't bother us. Yet, we are called to love. It is in that love, which makes us vulnerable, that God moves and provides support. We hurt because we love, and yet we hurt less because we love.

Do we hold our hearts close? Or do we let go, abandoning our hearts?

I'll stand, with arms high and heart abandoned.