Billeted in close quarters overseas, with a brood of kids next door (and other neighboring munchkins too close for comfort) for two grueling weeks, you hear things. In response, you think things; some of which are fit for sharing. Here is a meaningful observation.
When we are small, we cry often. Real little ones weep several times a day, at the drop of a hat. As they grow, it averages about once daily. Elementary school age, roughly one time a week. And so on. Ask them a short while later, and they will hardly remember, or casually speak of it as no big deal. Life moves on...until the next crisis.
As we become adults, we cry less often. But when we do, we mean business! A broken heart from a lost love, hurtful comments via a friend, betrayal by a spouse, a wayward child, a funeral. We feel deeply and carry it.
I cannot make your tears go away. Nobody should. Yet, here is some perspective for the next time you feel a mist or more in your eye.
God understands tears. He created us with the capacity to weep and allows us the vulnerability to suffer hurt and loss. Isaiah 53 provides insight into the character of our Lord, “He was a man of sorrows acquainted with grief”. His identification with our sadness is not merely academic; it is personal. Reference John 11:39, the shortest and perhaps saddest verse in the Bible, “Jesus wept”. We can believe when it promises, “The Lord is near the brokenhearted.” Our God is not only beside the brokenhearted, He was brokenhearted. (Show me another religion that avails that!)
Since disappointment, loss, and grief are part of the human experience, I’ll not try to trivialize yours with something trite. Take with you this encouraging line from a popular Christian song when I was young,
“I felt every tear drop, when in darkness you cried.
And I strove to remind you,
that for those tears I died.”
Solid theology: the cross is not only the remedy for sin, but for suffering.
One final perspective. Psalms reminds us, “Weeping may last for the night, but a shout for joy comes in the morning.” Hang on. Ultimately, when we arrive in glory, Scripture promises, “God Himself shall wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Take heart.