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I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will also give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes. You will keep my ordinances and do them. Ezekiel 36:25-27 WEB.

I grew up a bit different than most. My Mom married and divorced nine times, and my Dad three. Everyone I knew, and every home I stayed at, was temporary. One day they were your family, and the next day, your enemy. I don't even remember all their names, and many of them never bothered to learn mine.

During one family arrangement, I was the youngest of thirteen children. Ten of them were step-siblings who despised the idea of us being there. It was not uncommon to see them as grown men fist-fighting in the yard and sometimes in the house. I watched Dad get his shirt ripped off more than once while trying to pull them apart. One of my step-brothers liked to sit in the woods with his rifle scope aimed at Dad's head.

Early on, I learned to stay out of the way and keep a low profile, but I had my head beat against the wall more than once. I was the least of them all and an outsider. Living like this began when I was one year old, so I grew up thinking that it was normal family behavior. It wasn't.

By the time I was an adult, I had developed a heart of stone. There were about three people on earth in total that I cared anything about. Yet, I had enough ex-family members to populate a small city. When some of them died, I felt joy. I developed a hard shell where no one could hurt me anymore, and I really had no feelings left for anyone. The downside of this is that when you can no longer feel the pain, you can no longer feel love.

After I came to know Jesus, He started melting this stony shell of mine little by little. Slowly, I began to care for people. It seemed strange at first. Finally, at about thirty-five, I actually fell in love for the first time. I got married and have lived happily ever since. Now, I cry at the movies. God gave me a new heart.

There is healing for a heart of stone. God can give you a new one, and you can feel love like you are supposed to. We are created to love God and love one another. The more time you spend with Jesus, the softer your heart will become. He can fix the brokenhearted.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please soften my heart and show me Your love. Remove my heart of stone and give me a new one. Please give me a fresh start today. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!

Note: Today is Thankful Thursday at the Ministry Events group! This event gives us an opportunity encourage each other by posting thoughts, moments, and prayers of gratitude for Him, His creation and all that He does in our lives. All our welcome! To join, just click on the group name and then the join link on the page that will follow. As always, if you have a prayer need, we are here for you! We and the prayer team are ready to lift you up at our private prayer page: RHM Prayer Network.