Cry With You

One of the greatest things my pastor did for me when I was struggling through an intense spiritual depression was open his door to me at 10:00 PM at night and let me weep on his shoulder for half an hour. And I mean really weep, with tears, snot, and all. And then he did it again the next day for a couple hours as he guided me through exposing the feelings of anger and bitter resentment that had resulted in this depression.

He let me cry with him.

Much like Job's friends did at first, I was able to fully express my grief with no fear of rejection, no pat answers, and no shock and amazement that I could possibly feel the way I felt.

There are a lot of things in life that make people sad and distressed. Even someone with a relatively good life has plenty to cry over. Wouldn't it be nice to have someone sit down and cry with you? What if we could learn to actually weep with those who weep and mourn with those who mourn. I don't have to condone your thoughts or agree with your conclusions to cry with you. I just have to share in your pain, which is all of our pain as a result of the Fall. If I can't cry with you, have I really understood the tragedy of sin and its far-reaching consequences?

I teach Bible studies regularly to men who are 40 and 50 years old with nothing to their name, histories of drug and alcohol abuse, and numerous broken and failed relationships in their past. I pray that men who confess their brokenness to me, men who look at me on the verge of tears and tell me they wish they had the things I am enjoying, men with piles of regrets... I pray that when they hurt in front of me, I am able to hurt with them. To cry with them.