(I wrote this post way back in 2007, but reading it again was refreshing to me.

I hope it helps a whimsical heart in your life… especially if she’s younger than 25.)

Like a butterfly flitting from flower to flower, floating up to the blue autumn sky, then fanning its wings beautifully on a blade of dewy grass only to be plucked from the land of the living by the chubby fingers of a curious child, the whimsical heart can be both beautiful and risky.

I know; I have one.

The whimsical heart might be admired from afar. Who doesn’t love a romantic comedy that encourages the whimsical blond-haired lead to “keep bein’ you!” and demands that everyone else stand back and let the little one fly free? And what’s not to love? The whimsical heart is romantic, creative, passionate, joyful, fun-loving, and unique. That’s the part they show in the movies, anyway. What they don’t show is that the whimsical heart is also uncontrolled, shifting, and easily tossed about. Without boundaries, a whimsical heart follows Sensationalism, Emotionalism, or Selfishness, which all end up in disaster (even though it was deliciously fun getting there).

Even whimsical hearts who love God can spin ’round and ’round because we naturally approach God and His Word as a refreshing frolic or a gorgeous piece of artwork. Although our hearts might break over the beauty of the King, it might never dawn on us that His kingdom is full of practical wisdom for our day-to-day actual behavior.

On our own, we can’t easily discern between God’s definition of “lovely” and the world’s definition of “lovely”…

Nor do we remember that it’s important to discern between the two in the first place…

Nor do we necessarily want to discern between the two.

But we are far happier when we finally do.

These meditations have developed over the years as I consider my regrets: things I’ve said, done, or thought in the past that give me shivers today. I can’t tell you how often my heart will seize in memory of something so ugly or ungodly that I’ve done, believing at the time that I was being funny or sensual or fabulous!

Over the past ten years, I’ve grown increasingly tired of learning about healthy boundaries through mistakes I’ve made rather than through wisdom and warning. It wasn’t until I turned 25 that I felt a defining moment in my ability to consciously discern between wisdom and foolishness. (I found out later that our brains are not fully developed until we are 25 years old. Let’s just say, I could tell.) So, I’ve been asking God to give me some insight about my heart and some guidance for the future. God revealed some boundaries that I will need to keep in place in order to be transformed from an uncontrolled whimsical heart to one that is controlled by the Holy Spirit and who stands firm in the Truth.

A Whimsical Heart Needs:

* Friends and relations who love our personhood, aren’t intimidated by a little passion, and aren’t as easily convinced that every whim is gorgeous and right.

* The permission to acknowledge that we actually do need boundaries (lots of people want to “rescue” the whimsical heart from boundaries by encouraging it to be more free, when in fact they are pushing it towards chaos); the faith to believe that those boundaries will only cause our creativity and passion to flourish.

* Deep instruction in the Word of God that demands a practical, consistent, behavioral response.

* The courage to sloooooow down and respect warnings, consequences, and practical wisdom.

* The divine ability to love the unchanging direction of the Holy Spirit over our own shifting passions.

Thy word is a lamp until my feet and a light unto my path. Psalm 119: 105