Is your Heart on your Sleeve or in a Cage?

I dont think life is meant to be lived with my heart in a cage. To love is to be vulnerable, and if we are to share Christ's love with others, encourage others, build eachother up... how am I to do that with my heart in a cage? Believers are to live in relationship, that is how God is glorified. Our relationship with God influences how we relate with others. Being vulnerable is not the comfort route that is for sure. But is that what we are here for? To be comfortable all the time? I think not. Comfort to me leads to a wasted life. It is true that vulnerablity can result in rejection, pain, hurt, but it can also reveal much beauty. Yes, initially there may be rejection, pain, hurt, but all in all trials build perseverence, God is pruning us, refining us with fire, and I definitely see how He has done that to reveal His love! Seems like beauty is guarenteed where vulnerability is present. A friendship may come from it, it may just be seed planting to the random stranger at Starbucks that you only talk to once, or the response may be hostile. Whether trial or triumph, blessings seem to come from that taking a chance, from that being vulnerable, from that loving others and sharing who you are and sharing Christ who lives in you, as God so chose to reveal Himself to us, by making himself known, we should let others know who we are. Lets be real. I am not just a human being who walks, eats, and sleeps, there is more to me than that. I am not just a graduate of The Master's College, who is taking Interior Design classes, works as a nanny, and has amazing friendships with encouraging sisters in Christ. Those things are great, but there is much more when you are a child of God. A whole journey to be shared. Lets talk some more about those things. Created in the image of God, we have layers to who we are. In contrast, you can only get to know a horse so much... But a person, well there is so much to know and it takes several years if not more. Just like we are constantly learning more about God. What a blessing it is to be created in the image of God and that we have the intelligence to experience relationship. Live in relationship, loving God first, loving God most, and then loving others! Hint: self is not really in that list.