"Jesus wept." - John 11:35
All of us have experienced events in our life that seemed to devastate us so much we couldn’t stop crying. The loss of a family member or best friend, or a devastating life-changing financial loss. We’ve made difficult decisions that took us to our knees in the process of making them. We’ve grieved the mistakes we made when we didn't love ourselves enough to protect our bodies or our spirit. We’ve cried until we literally couldn't cry anymore. Even when we’re crying alone, we feel embarrassed we can't keep it together. We fall victim to a society that indicts emotion and criminalizes imperfection. And then we remember our friend Jesus. The Christ who came to save the world. The one who set the captives free. The personification of so many things we hope to be. We remember our friend Jesus crying at the loss of his friend Lazarus and the troubled sister who mourned Lazarus's death. We remember that even the all-powerful Christ—with the ability to bring Lazarus back to life—was still moved to tears by the loss and emotions surrounding him. We remember these tears, and we weep. Jesus knew we'd need permission to cry sometimes.
Prayer: My God, we know joy comes in the morning. Let us not flee from pain to find it. Amen.
