Empathy Goes Both Ways

Ecclesiastes 3:4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,

I'm drawn to this verse the day after Mother's Day.  There were many posts about the fact that we need to be careful about how we go about Mother's Day, making sure to be careful and empathetic toward those who don't have moms anymore, who want to be moms but can't, who don't have great moms, and so on.  I agree with this. It is wise to think of all aspects of life in all situations and not just blindly/selfishly go about life.  I'm going to go down this road though, so hang with me on this until the end.  For everything there is a season. There is a season for sadness. Some days sadness is going to overtake you, and it should. Embrace sadness and shed tears, instead of avoiding the celebration altogether. Tears are not a sign of weakness.  They are an outpouring of healing love. We want to run from hurt and keep sorrow and suffering at a bare minimum. We tell others to 'consider my suffering and my pain'.  Well yeah, but if you're the one who's sad, go there a bit. If we embrace the sadness, let the tears fall when they may, and accept the season of sorrow, then we will come out stronger on the other side. We won't be hurt by the joy of others when we do not feel it personally. We will rejoice with those who rejoice and cry with those who cry. Empathy goes both ways. 😊 We will truly live out the verse above.  When we walk through our sorrow, rather than trying to avoid it, that is where we find Jesus.  We are met with a grace from God that is only found in the valleys, in the dark night of the soul.  Once we experience the light of Christ in our darkest hour, we will discover that we do not need to fear the valley.  David knew this when he wrote the 23rd Psalm, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."  Amen! We have got to stop avoiding pain and sorrow or we will never find nearness of Jesus.  We will never experience true blessing until we are in great need.