Wise
Words
In a book called, Life Wisdom from Billy Graham, I
happened upon these words;
Tears shed for self are tears of weakness, but tears
shed for others are a sign of strength.
God wants us to have compassion on those who are
suffering and do what we can to help.
These are great words of wisdom and over the past
few weeks many tears of sorrow have been shed as a number of funerals have
taken place in our community. Many families are grieving their loss and will
walk their journey of grief with the Lord by their side as they turn to Him for
comfort. God understands grief as He grieved the loss of His precious son
Jesus; and so He knows all the emotions that overtake us during our journey. He
is there to be by our side, to never leave us alone as He shares in our sorrow.
In our tears for ourselves, in our weakness, we need
to turn to God for strength. Only He knows how to give us the strength we need
to come through our grief. Only He can turn our heartache into joy. We feel it
is not possible and yet I know from experience how He can. In 1989, I lost 6 of
my family and 15 friends, so I attended 21 funerals and I thought I would never
be able to move forward. His strength allowed me to take one step at a time,
one day at a time, until He turned my sorrow into joy. He took away my pain and
filled me with joy, giving me special moments that brought to mind my loved
one, (who was in my mind at the time), bringing them close to me in spirit. Now
my memories are precious of each one of them, and I can speak about them with a
heightened sense of love as I wait to be reunited with them in heaven. What joy
that will be when we are all together once again, knowing separation will never
be an experience we have in heaven. Hallelujah.
Tears shed for others are a sign of strength. I
remember when people cried for me and with me, I drew on their strength because
somehow I knew their tears were tears of compassion in my sorrow to comfort me.
It gave me great comfort to know I could share my real and true emotions with
them and they were willing to stand by me. All the love and strength of friends
is truly known to us in the silence of their words, in the shedding of their
tears and in the comfort of a hug that holds you so close it tells you it is
all right to cry and let your emotions be released. This is when you know they
are carrying your burdens to help lighten your load. Thank God for friends we
can depend on and lean into. They are treasure God sends to see us through.
As you do for others in times of sorrow please know
you are the hands and feet of Jesus, being sent out to minister to the needs of
the very one, who, at this time, need strength from others more than they know.
In the loss of a loved one at any age of life and / or for any reason – our
heart breaks. It is so very hard to say goodbye. We are never ready to say
goodbye. We all ask why? We all say, if only. We all break in two, and feel as
if a piece of our heart has been removed. This is all normal. I guess the only
way to say goodbye for me was when I took the opportunity to say;
“I loved you always and will love you forever, until
we meet again, please watch over me. Thank you for the life you shared with me,
the laughter and the tears we experienced together, and the love we have for
one another. Until we meet again, I will carry beautiful and precious memories
of our life shared because you were so very special to me.”
Today, as we come alongside those who suffer, let us
have patience, giving them the time they need to grieve, love to help them through, a helping hand for
whatever needs to be done, and a caring heart to help alleviate the pain and
suffering. Tell the person you will be there for them and follow through. Let’s
remember what the Lord tells us in Psalm 145 Verse 9(GNB)
(9) He is good to everyone and has compassion and
all He made.
His compassion and strength will be given to us in
good measure so that we can give to those who need us now. God never fails!! He
will comfort each one as only He can.
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