Godly Gals ~ Mary Jo Hess

Who Am I?
By: Mary Jo Hess

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26 (ESV)

I remember being very emotional as a child. I had a soft heart. Little House On the Prairie made me cry. Commercials made me cry. Hurting people made me cry. Yeah. I had a soft heart.

But time has changed me. I know it isn’t time itself, necessarily. But circumstances throughout my life have changed me. I’ve become a very hard person – a heart of stone I suppose. Yuck. I hate even thinking about it. But it’s true.

I know there’s still some softness in there – because it creeps out every once in a while, when I let my guard down. And when it does, I hate it. I have turned into this person who equates crying with weakness – being a sissy – someone who can’t handle pressure – a softy. I’ve always looked down on that sort of thing (sorry to those of you who are like that – it’s just been my thought process these last 10 years).

The Lord has been revealing to me lately that He wants to finish the job. He wants to take away my heart of stone and make it a heart of flesh. He has shown me that not only does the heart of stone keep feelings out; it also keeps me from feeling Him. I have been keeping Him blocked out.

And all the while I couldn’t figure out why I never “felt” anything when God would move. I would get so jealous, so frustrated at anyone who could feel Him and I couldn’t. I knew He was in the room. I sensed His Spirit flowing all around me.

And yet nothing.

Is this going to be the end all to my ‘fixing?” Nope. I’ll be a work in progress until Jesus comes to get me. But I know this is a major thing He is going to do in me. And it will take time. And you know what?

I’m scared.

But I’m excited.

I know in order to soften my heart, He’s going have to break the stony one. And it’s going to hurt. I know there will be tears. I know emotions will flow – emotions that I don’t like dealing with – but in order to “feel” I’m going to have to “feel.” Does that make sense?

So I guess it’s time to work it all out. If you happen to see me in the grocery aisle and I’m crying over noodles, don’t worry. I’m not upset with the noodles.

He’s just making a new heart in me.

I can’t wait to see the results.

A Little Bit About Mary:
Mary is a wife, a mom, an employee, a business owner, musician, and worshipper…but none of that compares to the fact that she is madly in love with Jesus and that she’s a daughter of the most High. Her blog, Mary Hess ~ Melodies of a Heart Surrendered to the Unforced Rhythms of Grace is a place to find out more about her family and her heart.

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I’m continuously in awe of the incredible women God is bringing to the pages of the Godly Gals series. It is my prayer that you are inspired, encouraged, and blessed by their lives and ministries.

I truly believe that when we focus on “Taking our Everyday, Ordinary lives and Place it as an Offering to Him” (Romans 12:2) that we (you and me) can change the world one person at a time.

I also know that there are so many more of you out there waiting to be heard from. If you would like to find out more about what it takes to be a Godly Gal ~ Real Women, Real Life, Real Faith, then please take a minute to email me at melsworldministry {at} gmail {dot} com for a copy of the Submission Guidelines.

Seeking JOY on the Journey,

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2 Comments

  1. Awesome Mary Jo, I love it. I vacilate between the two, one minute I'm tough as nails, the next I'm crying over noodles (you do that too? J/K).

    Beautiful words, thank you!
    Sue

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