Cyrus and Pharoah - Moved and Hardened

I find quite interesting the way God moves our hearts. In Ezra 1:1 it reads,

"In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing."

It goes on to talk about the building of the temple and the way that Cyrus helps the exiles to return to their place.

This really strikes a cord with me. God can move hearts to compassion. That is powerful. Yet there is this flip side...

"...the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he was not willing to let them go."

This popular "Exodus" counteracts God's ability to move hearts to be soft and have mercy and shows us the side where he hardens or makes tough the heart of the Pharoah. I'm not going to lie. I'm maybe a bit confused. How daresay, does God do this without it affecting our freewill. Hmm. Well. I don't know.
Is it just like a tug? A pull in a direction, the choice is still ultimately up to me. Or whoever. He knows our hearts. Hmm. I think I'm going to have to chew on that one for a bit. I think that'd be okay.
I don't think God wants us to get everything right away. Rediscovering the wonder. I mean I certainly don't understand everything about my friends right off the bat. As I spend more time, I begin to learn and know their character and personality{ugh I hate that word}. I then begin to understand why they do what they do, and why they say what they say. It's been proven over and over again in my relationships. Not going to lie, I'm not sure I'll ever understand God. As I heard once {I'm sure I mentioned it before}...

"Since when did the Spirit of the Lord make sense to the mind of man?"

and who ever said that He had to?