Crying and Building - one blog in a series on Renovate, Pine Valley's Lenten Spiritual Journey
Crying and Building
Life was going well and in a moment everything fell apart. Everything changed! My Dad, who seemed so much younger than he was, had a stroke and went to be with the Lord ten days later. It rocked our world. Six months later my mother-in-law died of cancer. Three months later my father-in-law was diagnosed with stage four cancer. The next month my mother had to have a major back surgery. There were other things going on also. I found myself exhausted. Maybe from grief, maybe from bad news, maybe from care giving, maybe from staying positive, maybe from stress or maybe from the whole package! My season of tears started. And once the tears started they stayed for a while.
Shedding tears can be good for our health. We have to let our guards down to cry which is a positive and healthy thing. There are three types of tears but we are talking about emotional tears. Tears can regulate their own emotions. Tears can calm the body. Tears can reduce their own distress. The Japanese are such strong believers in the benefits of crying that they have "crying clubs". You can go there for a sobfest! To help the tears flow they watch tearjerker movies. They do this because crying releases stress which is a great way to stay mentally healthy. Research is backing up that theory.
Society makes people think it is not ok to cry - especially males. God said in Luke 6: 21, “Blessed are you who weep now.” When Mary fell apart at Jesus’s feet over the death of her brother, Lazarus, "He groaned in the spirit and was troubled." A short time later "Jesus wept." John 11: 33-35. Jesus had compassion. If Jesus could cry we should all cry!
I thought it was just me but apparently most people have tears right before a renovation. When the pain is too much to take our body is wired for humility before God. No matter what the problem or pain is we need the peace of God. Surrendering our situations to God means surrendering our thoughts about it. Remember, what we place on the Altar is altered!
Every tear you shed is preparing for you for God's renovation. The ability to shed tears is a gift from God. God sees our tears and hears our cries. He knows what scares us, saddens us and what stresses us. He knows why we are crying even when we are not sure! Maybe that is why He wants to do a renovation on us. He wants to build something better than we can imagine! 2 Corinthians 4: 17, "These troubles and sufferings of ours are, after all, quite small and won’t last very long. Yet this short time of distress will result in God’s richest blessing upon us forever and ever!" Who doesn't want God's richest blessing upon them forever and ever?!
God's renovations can cause bitterness to turn to forgiveness. He can help us let go of the past and embrace the future. He can turn our negative outlook to a positive outlook. What is causing your tears? What do you need renovated? The Builder is waiting for you!