The gift of a heart

I attended a wedding today. The groom had been married briefly before, to someone he had known since high school, but the union had ended in divorce. Today he was marrying the love of his life. When the couple said their vows to each other, they each said–“I give you my heart.”

What does it meant to give someone your heart?

Before going to the wedding I heard an amazing true story. Last December, former MLB baseball player and Hall of Famer Rod Carew suffered a severe heart attack on the golf course. Doctors said the 71-year-old would not live without a donated heart and kidney. He was put at the top of the transplant recipient list. Meanwhile, a healthy 29-year-old NFL football player named Konrad Reuland was in the best shape of his life. While working out he suffered a brain aneurism and died after two weeks in a coma. Konrad’s heart now beats in Rod’s chest, and the two families, the Reulands and Carews, are inextricably linked. What makes this story so unusual is that Konrad once met Mr. Carew at a youth basketball game. There are many more coincidences surrounding their eventual organ donor/recipient connection, which you can read about here: http://www.latimes.com/sports/angels/la-sp-rod-carew-heart-20170415-story.html

The heart is the center of our physical being. It allows us to live by pumping blood through our bodies. But is is also the center of our metaphysical being. It allows us to love by sending and receiving heart-centered energy. I was privileged to witness both of these miracles in the same day: two hearts becoming one, and one heart bringing together two families. In the former instance, someone got a second chance at love. In the latter instance, someone got a second chance at life. Here’s to new hearts and second chances!