God of Weeping
"God blesses you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied. God blesses you who weep now, for in due time you will laugh. (Luke 6:21 NLT)
Don't cry.
As parents, this is one of the first things we tell our newborns. It's not that we want them to hide how they're feeling; it's just that we don't want them to feel whatever it is that's making them cry in the first place. We want them to feel safe, secure, happy, and content. We continue to want these things for our babies no matter how old those babies get to be. And we want safety, security, happiness, and contentment for ourselves, too.
Ecclesiastes tells us there is a time to weep. I'm the mom of two daughters—one young adult and one teenager—so I've seen my share of crying. I understand that there are chemicals in tears that get purged from the body during crying, so sometimes I will tell my daughters I think a good cry is what they need for release and repair.
God's story is filled with examples of weeping in due season.
God's story is filled with examples of weeping in due season.
Jacob wept in grief (Genesis 37:35).
Hannah wept in longing (1 Samuel 1:7).
Nehemiah wept in regret (Nehemiah 1:4).
Peter wept in shame (Matthew 26:75).
Jesus wept in compassion (John 11:35).
Maybe today is a time for weeping for you, too. Or maybe today is a time for you to sit with someone while they weep, not to say to them, "Don't cry," but rather, "Go ahead and cry. I'm here with you and for you."
Joy comes in the morning, but first, we give weeping its night.
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I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to tell me what you really think. Years ago, I explained to my then-two-year-old that my appointment with a counselor was "sort of like going to a doctor who will help me be a better mommy." Without blinking, she replied, "You'd better go every day." All of which is just to say I've spent some time in the school of brutal honesty!