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Showing posts with the label Grief

Tears stain the face, but heal the soul

I have some friends who seemingly cry at the drop of a hat.  You just say something, then almost imperceptibly, the tears begin to well up and there you are, them leaking tears and you standing there holding your hat in your hand!  I've never been one of those individuals who "leaks" tears very often, but a good cry does something to cleanse our soul, doesn't it?  The most precious tears are often shed right when I least expect them.  For example, I can be driving down the road, listening to the Christian station, when a song comes on which "hits" me right where I am in life.  The words do more than carry me along - they minister to my heart.  In turn, I might just "leak" a little! Crying is better than laughing.   It blotches the face but it scours the heart.  (Ecclesiastes 7:3 MSG) Truth is, I like to laugh much better than I enjoy crying!  Yet, there are some definite "types" of tears which I think say much more than any amount of ...

Crossing deserts?

I like salty treats - even to the point of craving them sometimes.  Whenever I consume them though, I usually end up drinking a lot of water - because they make me thirsty.  In the end, they leave me thirsty for a long time, not just while I am taking them in.  My body simply cannot process all the sodium in the salty treats without a whole lot of water.  In fact, whenever we find ourselves in the midst of the "excesses" of life, we often crave what we most need to help us deal with the excess. God—you're my God! I can't get enough of you!  I've worked up such hunger and thirst for God,  traveling across dry and weary deserts. (Psalm 63:1 The Message) So, we crave what we most need to deal with what we find ourselves enduring!  Sometimes we are "enduring" stuff by our own doing - like when I eat a huge bowl of Cheezits or eat a whole candy bar.  The sodium from one and the sugar from the other just cause me to "crave" the very thing which...

The Desert of Grief

When I was a kid, I loved reading the Reader's Digest.  I had two favorite sections - "Laughter is the Best Medicine" and "Humor in Uniform".  Both are lighthearted short stories intended to bring a smile to your face and a little cheer to your day.  I guess I was attracted to these sections in the magazine because they made me laugh.  In fact, I gravitate toward laughter!  I find it is like a magnet to my soul.  Whenever I hear a group of folks laughing, it lifts my spirits - almost releasing some type of hidden "energy" within.  Much happens with laughter - medically speaking.  Yet, laughter can conceal a great deal of hurt behind it! Laughter can conceal a heavy heart,  but when the laughter ends, the grief remains.  (Proverbs 14:13 NLT) Did you know the average person laughs somewhere around 15-20 times a day?  If you are considering a face-lift due to a few sagging facial muscles, you might consider getting a steady dose of...

A tear or two

There is a saying which goes something like, "If I didn't laugh, I'd cry!"  Golda Meir said, "Those who do not know how to weep with their whole heart don't know how to laugh either."  One of the most popular columns in the Reader's Digest is the "Laughter is the Best Medicine" feature.  Why is it we enjoy laughter more than tears?  Maybe our answer is found in our passage today. 22  A cheerful disposition is good for your health;  gloom and doom leave you bone-tired.   (Proverbs 17:22 The Message) A cheerful disposition is good for our health!  Sadness leaves us feeling like we have been wrung out and left to dry out like a washrag.  Ever see a dried washrag?  It is brittle, stinky, and pretty inflexible!  No wonder we enjoy the laughter so much! There is an old Jewish proverb which goes, "What soap is for the body, tears are for the soul."  Think on this one for a moment.  Tears have a real "cathartic" effect...

Ummm...can you say "depressed"?

11  Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul? Why are you crying the blues?    Fix my eyes on God—soon I'll be praising again.    He puts a smile on my face.  He's my God. (Psalm 42:11) There are a variety of psalms written by David that carry almost the same theme of desperation - intense desire to see God intervene in his life, some tragedy making his life almost unbearable, some sin keeping him out of fellowship with his creator.  This one has some "meat" to it that I'd like to explore this morning. David is lamenting over his circumstances - over his downtrodden disposition.  In other words, he is pretty well down-in-the-mouth - depressed beyond measure.  He is mourning over something or someone - the impression is that he has lost out on something in his life and he is in a deep, deep depression as a result. He begins with the idea of being thirsty.  He desires to drink God in afresh.  Have you ever been...