"Keep thy heart with all diligence;
for out of it are the issues of life."
- Proverbs 4:23

The sign on the wall of the doctor's office shouts its glaring message to all who enter the room...

..."shedding extra weight can save your life!"

One of the most logical things to do to promote a healthy heart is to reduce the strain that excess weight places upon us.  Even a few extra pounds can cause tremendous wear in time.  And so, by "lightening our load" we can, in fact, eliminate a lot of the unnecessary stress that is often on our hearts.

Hmmmm.  I think I see a spiritual application here.

What about our "spiritual" hearts?  Do we need to lose the weight of unnecessary burdens and cares?  Are there a few "extra pounds" of stress and worry that are weighing us down?

Is it time to lighten our load?

One day, as I was backing out of the driveway, I saw her standing on the porch.  She mouthed the words, "I love you."  Without really thinking about it, I lifted up two fingers as if to indicate, "I love you too (2)."
 
The hand signal stuck.
 
After that, we would periodically hold up the two fingers to simply say, "I love you."  Whether we secretly flashed each other the sign while sitting next to each other at church or while we were standing in line at the grocery store or when one of us was headed for work, the simple signal became a show of love and adoration between us.
 
Then, on vacation a couple of years ago, the signal took on a new meaning.  We had been driving for days on an all-you-can-see buffet style tour of the western states when we started to become irritated with each other.  Nothing serious, but after spending, on average, six hours a day in the cramped space of a car, it doesn't take much to dampen one's disposition.  On this particular day we had been driving for an extra long period of time and had grown irritable.  After arguing back and forth about a relatively stupid issue, I had enough.  I said, "Honey, from now on, let's have a little agreement.  After two exchanges on a particular subject, let's end the conversation.  This will keep us from arguing back and forth about who was right and who was wrong."  She agreed.
 
It didn't take long for us to recognize that we would be ending a lot of conversations on this trip!  I remember making a remark to which my countered with a disagreement and as I was about to explain my point of view further, she held up two fingers in front of my face and said with a great deal of satisfaction, "That's two exchanges, you cannot say anything more on the subject."
 
She had gotten the last word in rather nicely. ;-)
 
For the remainder of the trip we playfully (and frequently! ;-) flashed each other the two finger signal, thus ending a "going nowhere" conversation.

It was only when we got home that we realized we had been using the same two finger signal to end an unfriendly conversation that we had previously used to show our adoration for one another.  It became a funny joke between us.  We would flash the signal to each other and say, "I love you...be quiet," combining the two thoughts.
 
We still do it today.
 
You know, sometimes when I am in the middle of a crisis that 
seems to be "weighing me down", when circumstances seem too 
hectic and "heavy" for me to carry, when I am complaining or 
whining or worrying...sometimes I can almost see, through the 
clouds in the sky, God extending two fingers as if to say to me, "I 
love you...be quiet."  "Be still and know that I am God."  "Calm 
down and realize I am in control."  "Stop worrying and understand 
that I have power."  "Trust me," the Prince of Peace calls down to 
me.

And peace floods my soul.
 
Christian, it doesn't matter what you are up against today.  It doesn't matter how heavy the obstacle or how severe the burden.  It doesn't matter what questions are rolling around in your head, what worry or doubts are weighing on your heart or what difficulties you face.  God has a wonderful message for you...

"I love you...be quiet." He whispers to your heart.

It's time to lighten your load.