the kitchen sponge

we all know you’re not supposed to use sponges to do dishes anymore because they soak up all sorts of bacteria and it never goes away. sometimes i feel like a sponge.  so saturated with stuff that it’s difficult to empty. my heart soaks up fears, anxieties, other people’s burdens, lies, hurts, etc. i know that God blessed me with an especially tender heart which i give Him all the glory for and serve Him with as i care for families of chronically and terminally ill children. He created me to yearn for loving the orphan. my heart was made to empathize. i’m not great at squeezing it out. i used to paint all the time and that was incredible therapy. i used to meet with my girlfriends weekly to hash life out. in the chaos of motherhood and work and stuff, i have forgotten to take care of my heart, to empty it every so often. it’s no wonder this spongy heart is heavy and uncomfortable.