NorthStar Community Daily Devotional

Having Heart In A Sometimes Heartless World Day 143 - Mourning without moping Scripture focus: God sent me to announce the year of his grace - a celebration of God's destruction of our enemies - and to comfort all who mourn. To care for the needs of all who mourn. Isaiah 61:2-3 The Message Cathy and Frank eventually found their way back to each other and God. Neil Anderson says, "When you find out that all you have is God, you discover that he is all you need." And this couple strongly advocates this position. They too have discovered that the really valuable things in life can't be measured in dollars and cents. This sounds like a great backdrop for a made-for-tv movie, but I seriously doubt anyone will actually write it - if they feel compelled to tell the truth. There were serious consequences as a result of the years of denial and lousy loving. They lost their home and credit rating when they declared bankruptcy. Plans for early retirement and travel in their golden years are no longer considerations. Frankie eventually entered rehab, and he's had some great years - and a few slips along the way. Frankie's life isn't what they dreamed for him. They're the first to acknowledge that Frankie has a great life AND it is not the life they expected. He hasn't pursued higher education; he never recaptured his potential on the ball field. Everyone who knows him readily declares that his educational status and sport's standing are irrelevant in comparison to his sober life. But honesty requires that they also admit that there are moments for each of them when they experience a twinge of regret over what might have been. These folks mourn without moping. They don't mourn the loss of dollars and cents; they don't grieve the years that the locusts ate; they mourn the loss of their dreams. To deny this truth is to cheapen the cost of learning how to love like God. Along the way they have built a network of friends who love them better than Job's friends were capable of loving Job. Their friends know how to listen to the mourning without feeling the need to bolster up their bad days with perky platitudes and incessant reminders of God's provision. When we live in a loving community that dares to care for the needs of all who mourn, it's important to remember that suffering people can mourn without diminishing God. It's perfectly acceptable to mourn losses AND celebrate God's provisions. People are capable of knowing that God's purposes prevail without always having to smack on a smile and speak of God's goodness in the middle of a bad hair day. I pray that each of us will grow in God-confidence as we learn how to love those who mourn. May we give ourselves and others the permission to mourn. To stifle the mourning process may have unintended negative consequences - leaving us in community with folks who say the spiritually "right" things but can't stop moping around. Recommended reading: 1 Samuel 29 and 30 in the morning; 1 Samuel 31 and John 12 in the evening