What are you fast tracking to your heart?

My chemo port allows medicine to go straight to my heart that then gets pumped out to the rest of my body. Chemo is killing all the fast growing cells in my body, aka cancer. (And my hair…but ya know, whatever💁‍♀️). The port feels kind of like a rubber bottle cap under my skin with three raised knobs on top. Those knobs you can see and feel through my skin tells my nurses where to stick the needle in. Once the needle is in, the chemo flows through a flexible tube that sits in a large blood vessel that flows to my heart.

While it’s uncomfortable sometimes, I know this is a necessary step to a better future. A future free of the things trying to kill me from the inside out.

And it got me thinking, what are we letting into our hearts? Because cancer isn’t the only thing that tries to kill us from the inside out. We too often dwell on current problems and past hurts, and that mindset has the tendency to suck the life out of us if we aren’t careful.

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been starting almost every day with a Christian devotional. Mine is a set of short stories with a message about God. Some are purely uplifting while others challenge me to shift my perspective. These have allowed me to start my day from a place of gratitude, rest, and hope during one of the largest trials of my life to date. Today’s devotional reminded me that, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8).

It’s important to recognize what we are allowing to be fast tracked to our hearts. Whether it’s chemo or an important message, the things that save us might be uncomfortable to take in at first. But watch for the fruits that they bare. Both chemo and my mornings with God are helping me lead a healthier, more grateful, and peace filled life.

What are you letting into your heart?