CANDY HEARTS

Words, words, words…This world’s heart-shaped sweet-nothings, turning heads and making hearts soar? Or… Heaven’s Reflections of God’s Sweet-Somethings, turning hearts towards His Love Forevermore?

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“A Word from the Hearts”

by Debbie Allen

Most adults wrinkle their noses at the sight of a dish filled with the popular, chalk-like candies we’ve come to know as ‘conversation hearts.’ A week or two before Valentine’s Day every year, it seems they can be spotted everywhere!  Though I’m an adult now, I’m anything but one of those nose-wrinklers, I mentioned earlier. When it comes to this childhood confectionary, I loved them as a kid…and I love them now! The very sight of them still transports me back to my grade school years.

 It was Valentine’s Day, 1963.  I’d just finished delivering the last of the valentines I brought to school for classmates.  Heading back to my seat, I caught sight of my second-grade heart-throb, Nicky, dropping a box of those conversation hearts into my own Valentine mailbox. Though I walked back nonchalantly, my heart raced inside of me; in anticipation of what he’d left there for me. There were twenty-four other cards and candies in my mailbox, but I dug around them all until I clenched in my hand… the box of hearts from Nicky.  Dumping it out on my desk top, I sifted through each one; silently reading the Valentine graffiti scrolled across each candy heart. In true Hollywood fashion… instead of hearing the echo of my own voice inside my head; I heard Nicky’s voice reading them back to me in stereo.  “Pick Me” … “True 2 U” … and “Be Mine” … were some of my girlish favorites that day. However, when I looked up to find his sparkling, black eyes staring at me from across the room; after having just heard his voice in my head reading the “Kiss Me” and “I Love U” hearts; embarrassment barged in and brought this Hollywood snippet to a screeching halt!  My best attempt to both recover my dignity, and hold onto this memorable second-grade love story was to pop the pink, “Best Day” heart into my mouth, seal up that box quick, and call it good!

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“My best attempt to both recover my dignity, and hold onto this memorable second-grade love story was to pop the pink, “Best Day” heart into my mouth, seal up that box quick, and call it good!”

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 I’d noticed Nicky since Kindergarten. This skinny, Italian boy with dark eyes and even darker hair; was famous for getting nose bleeds and passing out whenever he got nervous up in front of the class or during school programs. However, he never fully captured my attention until Valentine’s Day back in 1963.  He’d been my heartthrob from day one, but no one knew it besides me.  It was the words on those chalky hearts that changed how I looked at him.  Those words only meant something to me because they came from Nicky. He was the boy who gave value and meaning to those words…and to the friendship that grew from them over the next few years. We became the best of friends for the rest of grade school. However, much like the Hollywood snippet of my reading of those conversation hearts came to an abrupt end; our friendship, too, was cut short. You see…Nicki and his family unexpectedly, moved away the summer following our sixth-grade year; and I never saw or heard from him again. It made me sad to think about it for a long time afterwards.

By the time my first day of Junior High arrived, I brushed aside my sadness as best as I could; and stepped across the threshold of uncertainty into the realms of teenage chaos.  What I remember the most about the first day was watching kids who had no idea who they were, trying to tell the kids I knew (including myself), who to be…who to like…and how to walk if they were going to get anywhere in this upside-down world of theirs.  It was like witnessing one big impress-fest!

 Pushing my way through this kind of pandemonium in the hallways to class, it hit me that this was the first time I didn’t have Nicky standing somewhere nearby to bounce things off of. I swallowed hard and choked back a few tears. But…this was also the first time I recognized the gift he’d left behind for me.  The rare, gift of having already known the thrill of what it’s like having someone in my corner of life who genuinely cared about the real me (knock-knees, freckles and all!). Even in this awkward stage of my life, I carried in my heart, a snapshot of what genuine friendship looked like and experienced what it was like to have a true friend. One who always had my back…whose words could be trusted…and whose actions never left room for questioning. What a rare gift I’d been given, indeed. The beautiful, gift of friendship…being seen through another’s eyes for exactly who I was… and then chosen and loved because of it!

There aren’t too many love stories in life that find their beginnings in a vintage box of conversational hearts.  Besides my own second-grade love story; I can only think of one…and this one might surprise you.  It is God.  His is the Greatest Love Story ever told.  His Heart was the very first Conversational Heart on this earth.  It arrived in a box (manger) in Bethlehem… in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ. He is God’s Love… come to earth to live, die for our sins, and rise again so we could enjoy the wonders of Eternal Life.

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“I say to God, ‘Be my LORD!’ Without YOU, nothing makes sense.” (Psalm 16:2 MSG)

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 The words I envision being written across His Heart are this: “You are Mine”.  “I have loved you with an Everlasting Love; with lovingkindness I have drawn you to me.” (Jeremiah 31:3)

 His Heart’s Message reminds us of this : “Be Mine”.  These Words are not written across a chalky, heart shaped confectionary with red, vegetable dye. They are inscribed on your heart of flesh and written with His Own Life Blood.    “I will inscribe My Laws upon their hearts, so that they shall want to honor Me; then they shall be My people and I will be their GOD.”  (Jeremiah 31:33)

The greatest beauty I can envision in this life is to see Jesus, standing as our own Divine, ‘Conversational Heart’ beside God, in Heaven!  Across His Heart, I visualize these words in big, bold letters: “Forever Friend”.  “For Christ has entered into Heaven itself, to appear before God as our Friend.” (Hebrews 9:24a LAB)

Jesus is so much more than a Valentine Sweetheart or love’s first crush. He is our truest, Forever Friend!  He stands at God’s side in Heaven, praying for you and I.  He awaits your own heart-response.  Jesus’ desire is to walk beside us and stand with us in this life in all our circumstances. He knows Heaven won’t be the same without you .  Won’t you choose to give Him your heart?  Reach into your own box of thoughts… choose the one that says: “U R MINE!”  or “I AM YOURS”.  Then you’ll have the rest of your life to thank Him for His Friendship!

“My choice is You, God, first and only. And now I find I’m Your Choice!” (Psalm 16:5 MSG)

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