"Pure in Heart"

"Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God."  Matthew 5:8

We discussed this verse in my adult Bible class recently and the words "pure in heart" and "see God" kept rolling around in my head.  What does that even mean?  How can we be "pure in heart"?  How can we "see God"?  As my head started spinning I started thinking about the popular Christian song, "Give Me Your Eyes" by Brandon Heath.  One line of the song kept playing over and over again in my head, "Give me your eyes, so I can see, everything that I keep I'm missing.  Give me a love for humanity."  To me, this song kind of describes how we're able to see God-- by opening our eyes and looking for Him.

When asked who we thought about when we heard, "pure in heart" several people came to mind, but all of them had something in common: They were open and seeking God, always.  I know I typically only write about my kids and/or adventures in motherhood, but only a week out from mother's day I find myself wanting to write about my mom and her daily desire to be, pure in heart.

My mom sees God... or maybe God reveals himself to her because He knows she's looking for Him.  At the downtown Goodwill you might see a special needs man working.  The average person might even avoid him, but when my mom arrives, she looks for him, gives him a hug, and knows him by name-- Cordell.  She overhears the person in line behind her trying to decide what items they can afford at Wal-mart and she secretly pays for their entire purchase.  She hears an elderly woman on the phone complaining to her bus service that by the time they arrive, she'll miss church, so my mom offers to take her home (to the opposite side of town). She gives money to "her" contributor seller, every day.  It seems like she's always helping someone who needs a home, a ride, a meal, a little cash, a little smile, and/or a simple hug.  We laugh at her sometimes because she seems to attract, "strays," but really I think God's just revealing Himself to her through, "the least of these." 

So, I'm still not sure I really understand what Jesus meant by, "Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God," but I think a good example of someone striving to be "pure in heart" is someone like my mom-- someone who has her eyes and ears open to seeing God.  

Happy Belated Mother's Day, Mama!