THE DESIRES OF YOUR HEART

Coming Alongside God's Narrow Path

• Psalm 37:4 “Delight thyself also in the Lord and he shall give you the desires of thine heart.”

  Rom.8: 31: “ if God is for you, who can be against you?”

  I always loved Psalm 37:4, about how God will give you the desires of your heart...and the older I get, I see this is real and yet CONDITIONAL. Verse says “delight thyself in the Lord”.

  Oh that...

  This involves aligning our rampant desires with the will and heart of God. Yes, such an easy task! Nope, more like,

  Humans:

  “ I want “…

  This includes variations of:

  I want this

  I want that

  I want these and I want her or him!

  NOW, ( pretty please!)

• Good grief, are we stuck in toddlerhood?? (Don’t remind me of my youth, please...)

• My Pastor is also a substitute teacher in primary school and deals with determined lil’ persons, much shorter than him...who are in the difficult era of being confronted by the parameters to both behavior and desires. Sometimes the kid has a NO stable home life.

• Even if they have a stable home life, they are thrust into the relatively unbending structures of reading, writing and arithmetic. Being a kind but also realistic and focused teacher, my Pastor does not allow little persons to run roughshod over him (the grown-up) or the fellow students, who just may want to learn!

  This is a basic blunt tutorial on “ how not to grow up to be a thuggish barbarian: 101.” I am quite certain it is a needed class! When I was that age long ago, male teachers especially and most certainly allowed no nonsense.

  New pressures on kids, societal crumblings, family chaos, language troubles, the demands are far more than what I went through long ago from kindergarten to 12th grade, plus my one year of college.

  I have often wondered how a HOLY God could want to give us humans “ the desires of your heart.” Isn’t that dangerous, Papa??? People are pretty raw and unbalanced...aren’t You concerned that the “desires of your heart “ could be rambunctious and well, unholy...and, well...DANGEROUS??? After all, we have had, what 60 or 70 years of “ do your own thing, sex-drugs-rock and roll, pursue your heart”. It has had a rather damaging effect of human beings, yes??

  I think we can realize that God knows human beings and seeks relationship with them and calls each of us to become sons and daughters and be a part of the Household of God. That relationship becomes our Teacher, the daily and incredible fellowship that we can develop, just by hanging out with God and reading His Word. It actually does rub off on us. It certainly has on me, slowly and surely and far below surface level lip service.

  Now the latest hot thing...is SOCIALISM.

  Deepest sigh ever...

  The eternal haves versus the have-nots, this is ancient and does not change much.

  Where does this distress come from? How do some have gobs and others have destitution and a block of cement as a pillow? I saw this up front and personal in the 31 years I lived in San Francisco.

  One thing I observed...the answer is not simplistic or cut and dried. Some of the degraded poor on the literal streets, were severe alcoholics, drugs addicts or mentally ill. Some were Vietnam Veterans who fell through the cracks. Some of the challenged working poor, like myself, ran constantly to keep up with the basics. A basic studio apartment was even too high, long ago, back when I thought $200 a month was high rent...

  Please note I do not characterize the poor as lazy or useless, any more than I characterize the rich as evil. Humans have varied life traumas and experiences that lead them up, down and sideways. We make mistakes and keep learning along the rugged path. This is why the mercy and help of God is so needed. I have shared before that I have lived decades as a member of the working poor, living in humble circumstances, keeping the basics afloat, having some help along the way, always having work, just not always enough funds to deal with the increasing cost of living. I am not in debt, praise God, since 2002.

  From the wealthy side, some people have almost TOO much, overflowing with material things instead of a tender relationship with a loving God Who made them and gave them gifts of abilities, skills, talents. They seem to worship and place trust in “things” and the status those things bring them.

  Some wealthy people I met when I lived in San Francisco, however, were dignified, kind, and gracious to me (it was mutual!)
  

  You can look at the lives of some famous people, who appear to have everything one could want...wealth, fame, material goods, power, influence, respect...and yet they do not always seem happy....and some even harm themselves! WHAT???

  I have long had a a very modest desire level, living in deep simplicity and humility, not wanting to scratch my way up the mountain, too much dang work!

  Now “there’s a plan”...and it worked for my basic survival and not much else.

  The older I get, I see the narrow ledge and how poignant it is.

  I am not simplistic or naive...but I also see the gifts God gave to each of us...are best developed in honorable partnership with Him.

  Don’t you think that God, the Creator of all, just might know the way to build a business?? Did He give gifts to us for us to let them sit fallow?

  I think not. I had a dear friend many years ago, an expert book editor (mine!)...who often nudged me to WRITE, as “time is moving on, Wendy!” ( This is the “well duh” portion of our program...)

  The process requires digging and thinking...and thanking, all rolled into one (muddy-messy) package.

  Humans are gnarly creatures (me, as well!). We struggle, we quarrel, we are territorial, tribal, often unhappy and lashing out in all four directions. How the hey do we get outta this filthy mess?? We have borders, boundaries, politics, getting along with the basics, allowing for human darkness and dealing with the thief of all thieves...the devil.

  Not in our own strength.

  I have sat in despair and a puddle of tears more times than I can count. I should have been dead long ago. Grief felled me, I could not keep up financially, the intense pressure makes your soul crack. I often wanted to lay down and die.

  I get it.

  Truly, I get it. I long for Home with God.

  What are the desires of my own heart??

  Few, and they include being a continuing humble conduit for the love of God toward the brokenhearted, to have a stabilizing of finances that reduces the pressure on my daily needs, and to be around the realm of beauty, with my lifelong love of all things fabric, garments and beauty. A personal “fashion tribe” of people who resonate with me, would be incredible. I have not yet met any of them, Conservatives who love the beauty and power of clothing.

  Until I stumble through the gates of Heaven, even crawling across the finish line...I will find no complete rest and HENCE why Papa God tells me....”Wendy, trust Me and cast all your burdens on me every single day”, OVER AND OVER AND OVER again (did I say “ over”??? ) Ya, I did.

  Don’t camp out in despair, just DO NOT. Take Christ’s hand scarred for you...and take a step and then another...and another, up into Eternity with God, His Son, Holy Spirit, the angels of light and all the saints of history! Please DO think of the desires of your own heart…and ask God to help you!

• One final note before I sign off: there are two rather intense rock and punk songs that I find some power in…not Christian but have an intensity to them and I suggest a brief listen to both of them. I am not a lightweight girl…I am blunt and real and authentic and both these songs speak to my soul. One is from a British group called The Godfathers and a song called, rather bluntly, “Birth, School, Work, Death.” Yes, except for GOD AND HIS SON…that about sums up human life.

• Second is an oldie sung by John Lennon of the Beatles, “Working Class Hero”, another blunt and sorrowful and yet power-packed song. Trigger warning, there is some profanity in the songs…but the message remains clear. Check them out!

  Wendy Elizabeth Williams Friday, October 31, 2025

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  --Consider donating any amount from $1 and up, on my Ko-fi page at https:Ko-fi.com/wendyelizabethwilliams. You can donate one time, periodically or monthly as you feel guided. I am also having a great time writing one shorter piece per week on my Ko-fi page, focusing on my life-long love of all things fabric, garments and beauty, plus the centuries long battles between men and women. After I get my weekly longer writing piece up on Substack on Friday night, I place my shorter Ko-fi piece up also on Substack Notes. This week’s shorter piece is called “ My barbarian Vest, a tale of me”, featuring an old boiled wool vest that I still wear in the colder months and the reactions of some-such. The button vest is worn out...and yet still workable for me, along with the primitive mending I have done all over it. Kinda like myself...taped together and safety pinned...but still cookin’. One dear person I care for, looked at the mends...and did not understand. I guess you have to have a sensitive warrior barbarian heart to comprehend...

  -- I continue to be a solid advocate for the microentrepreneurs of this world, self included. Small and mobile is good! Keep in touch if that is you!

  --Please pray for me! Thank you, Wendy

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