Weep With Me, It's Biblical
If you know me at all, you probably know that I am not a crier. Yes, I cried every single day of second grade, but that's because Lilly Bushong was a jerk (hi Lilly, I know you're reading this). However, something about middle school and high school and life after I became a teenager somehow seemed to rob me of all emotions.
I can't really remember the last time I cried. The girls on my floor make me watch military homecoming videos and animal abuse commercials in an effort to leak a single tear, but time and time again, I walk away with a sad feeling in my stomach and Sahara-dry eyes.
My roommates always make fun of me because, well, to put it nicely, crying is a talent of theirs and they practice often. I love that about them because it shows that they are real. They are in touch with their emotions and they know how to weep. I sometimes envy the way they are able to just let it all out and cry. No matter how desperately I try to cry, I never ever can. I always bottle it up and hide away and for the life of me, I can't seem to make tears fall.
I've prayed for God to make me more emotional, and he always answers those prayers. Every time I ask, my heart starts to break for the outcast and the lonely and the widow and the orphan. My stomach turns at the thought of children starving and people sleeping out on the street...but despite all this emotion, I still cannot cry!
This all changed last Sunday afternoon. I was sitting at my desk and life was just hitting pretty hard. I'll expand on that in a later post. But basically I had to say goodbye to the only dog I've ever loved and my mom's health was at risk and my family was struggling and school was hard and life just didn't seem fair. As I began to add it all up, a tear fell down my face. Despite my pain, I was so excited that I was finally going to cry!
However, I could not let my roommates see me cry, because then they would think they won. So I excused myself into the hallway and let the tears fall freely. I wept into the pages of Psalm 121 until I was certain I had no more tears to cry. Then, I walked back into the dorm room. I sat in my bean bag and looked at my roommates, and without warning, I began to cry again.
They were shocked at first. And then stunned. And then, they later admitted, a little scared. Because they had never seen anything like this in the entire time they'd known me. But at this point, I had nothing left to fight for. I was sobbing. They held me and rubbed my back and listened to me weep for five minutes. And then ten. And as I continued to soak their shoulders with my tears, they continued to hold me and let me weep.
Now, here is the part I will never ever forget:
When I (finally) pulled away from the sob-fest, I looked at my roommates - my best friends - two girls who didn't even know I existed until just eight months ago...
and they were crying too.
Of course, this made me cry even harder. These two beautiful girls didn't even know what was wrong, and they didn't even have to ask. They didn't bother to ask. They just knew that I was hurting. So in the name of a Godly friendship, they hurt with me.
It was the most beautiful image of Jesus I have ever seen - so intimate and so personal and so raw and real. Romans 12:15 commands us to "weep with those who weep," but I had never seen this lived out so wholly and so completely.
This reminds me of one of my all-time favorite Bible stories. It comes from John 11, when Jesus hears about the death of Lazarus.
Jesus is encountered by Lazarus' sisters, Mary and Martha, who are mourning the death of their beloved brother. When Jesus hears about the death, God's word tell us that "he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled." Jesus doesn't just see pain and heal it, he feels it in his own soul. Two verses later, Jesus wept.
He comes alongside those who are hurting and weeps with them. We do not have to walk in our sorrow alone. We have a savior who also suffered and felt pain and cried real tears, and He will feel pain and cry real tears right beside you.
I am so thankful to have roommates who reflect this image of Christ. They, too, come alongside me and cry with me. My pain pains them, and my tears bring them to tears as well.
Furthermore, I am so thankful for a savior who hears our cries and comforts us. We are never ever alone. Psalm 10:17 is a beautiful reminder that the Lord "knows the hopes of the helpless. Surely He will hear our cries and comfort us."
Amen. My friends, don't be afraid to weep!!!
I can't really remember the last time I cried. The girls on my floor make me watch military homecoming videos and animal abuse commercials in an effort to leak a single tear, but time and time again, I walk away with a sad feeling in my stomach and Sahara-dry eyes.
My roommates always make fun of me because, well, to put it nicely, crying is a talent of theirs and they practice often. I love that about them because it shows that they are real. They are in touch with their emotions and they know how to weep. I sometimes envy the way they are able to just let it all out and cry. No matter how desperately I try to cry, I never ever can. I always bottle it up and hide away and for the life of me, I can't seem to make tears fall.
I've prayed for God to make me more emotional, and he always answers those prayers. Every time I ask, my heart starts to break for the outcast and the lonely and the widow and the orphan. My stomach turns at the thought of children starving and people sleeping out on the street...but despite all this emotion, I still cannot cry!
This all changed last Sunday afternoon. I was sitting at my desk and life was just hitting pretty hard. I'll expand on that in a later post. But basically I had to say goodbye to the only dog I've ever loved and my mom's health was at risk and my family was struggling and school was hard and life just didn't seem fair. As I began to add it all up, a tear fell down my face. Despite my pain, I was so excited that I was finally going to cry!
However, I could not let my roommates see me cry, because then they would think they won. So I excused myself into the hallway and let the tears fall freely. I wept into the pages of Psalm 121 until I was certain I had no more tears to cry. Then, I walked back into the dorm room. I sat in my bean bag and looked at my roommates, and without warning, I began to cry again.
They were shocked at first. And then stunned. And then, they later admitted, a little scared. Because they had never seen anything like this in the entire time they'd known me. But at this point, I had nothing left to fight for. I was sobbing. They held me and rubbed my back and listened to me weep for five minutes. And then ten. And as I continued to soak their shoulders with my tears, they continued to hold me and let me weep.
Now, here is the part I will never ever forget:
When I (finally) pulled away from the sob-fest, I looked at my roommates - my best friends - two girls who didn't even know I existed until just eight months ago...
and they were crying too.
Of course, this made me cry even harder. These two beautiful girls didn't even know what was wrong, and they didn't even have to ask. They didn't bother to ask. They just knew that I was hurting. So in the name of a Godly friendship, they hurt with me.
It was the most beautiful image of Jesus I have ever seen - so intimate and so personal and so raw and real. Romans 12:15 commands us to "weep with those who weep," but I had never seen this lived out so wholly and so completely.
This reminds me of one of my all-time favorite Bible stories. It comes from John 11, when Jesus hears about the death of Lazarus.
Jesus is encountered by Lazarus' sisters, Mary and Martha, who are mourning the death of their beloved brother. When Jesus hears about the death, God's word tell us that "he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled." Jesus doesn't just see pain and heal it, he feels it in his own soul. Two verses later, Jesus wept.
He comes alongside those who are hurting and weeps with them. We do not have to walk in our sorrow alone. We have a savior who also suffered and felt pain and cried real tears, and He will feel pain and cry real tears right beside you.
I am so thankful to have roommates who reflect this image of Christ. They, too, come alongside me and cry with me. My pain pains them, and my tears bring them to tears as well.
Furthermore, I am so thankful for a savior who hears our cries and comforts us. We are never ever alone. Psalm 10:17 is a beautiful reminder that the Lord "knows the hopes of the helpless. Surely He will hear our cries and comfort us."
Amen. My friends, don't be afraid to weep!!!