Day Seventeen: Strength Personified

I AM THERE

    I was thirteen when my big brother died. I never saw my parents cry. I witnessed a few hugs but they tried hard to maintain a strong appearance in front of the kids. It was years before I heard anyone mention his name I assumed to keep from upsetting us. I was twenty the first time my mom and I had a nice conversation about my big brother. I was visiting after being away from home for awhile and I said, “I miss Mitch, I want to tell him all the neat things I am doing.” She said she missed him too and we sat and shared a few wonderful stories together. After that it got much easier to talk about him with the family.
     Those years of silence, the years where mom and dad maintained a strong appearance were very painful. I know now how lonely grieving is no matter how much you talk about your loved one but just once I needed to see them cry. I needed to know that they hurt as much as I was hurting. I needed to know they missed him so much it hurt their very soul.

     One of the greatest comforts I held on to when my husband died was the scripture our pastor read at my husband’s funeral, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16)." I was captured by the fact that God didn’t just see what I was going through but he had come to earth in human form so he could feel it. He knew what it was like to hurt, to grieve, to anguish as a human being but yet he was God. I was comforted by the fact that he was crying with me because he knew what I was feeling and he knew the ache in my heart and soul. It wasn’t the fact that God was a powerful deity that comforted me during those dark days, it was the fact that he cried, that he grieved, and that he was aching with me that got me through the lonely days and nights of mourning.

STUDY GUIDE:
 Follow along in JOHN: 90 Days with the Beloved Disciple by Beth Moore pages 79-82
 Read Matthew 26:36-46
 Answer the following questions in your study guide:
     1. Have you seen someone you considered to be a rock in unabashed anguish, virtually inconsolable, overwhelmed with sorrow? What impact did it have on you?
     2. Can genuine strength and deep emotion dwell in the same person? How does seeing this in Jesus challenge your view of steadiness and resiliency are made of?
 Share a brief highlight or two from your thoughts and answers in a comment posted to the group. (Read guidelines and cautions posted August 1, 2010 before you post).
 Read the comments of others and share your thoughts and encouragement with them by replying to their comments. Identify which post you are responding to by addressing them and their subject or pasting a brief portion of their reply at the start of your post.

PRAY WITH ME:
Lord each person reading this post knows or will know their share of suffering, pain, and sorrow. It is comforting to know that you not only see what we are going through but you can empathize with us because you came to earth and experienced life with all its suffering, pain, sorrow, and joy. You know our pain, you feel our tears, and you ache with us as we go through each situation. Thank you for being our solid rock that stands with us in all our trials. In Jesus Name, Amen.