We have all had times in our lives when we experience extreme heartache. It could be the loss of a parent, the death of a best friend, divorce, and so forth. During such times our heart can seem to cry a million tears and still be grief stricken.
When you know someone in that situation, there is rarely anything you can say to make it better. The times when it’s you and people are struggling for words, you sometimes wish they could say the right thing and your world would will instantly be better. At other times, you simply long for silence.
It is too easy to go down the road of self doubt, self criticism, resentment, anger and all the other non-productive thought patterns. As we are all aware, this doesn’t get us anywhere. Not anywhere good at least.
So, when the heart is crying, what do we do? I like to think about a baby. When a baby cries we pick it up, check to make sure the essentials are met and then just give the baby a long cuddle. We hold it close and the tears dry up the longer the baby feels safe in our arms.
I think as adults, sometimes what we really need is the same thing we needed as infants. We need those safe hugs. We need the warm embrace. We need the place where everything is ok. A mother’s arms are so often the safest place in the world to a baby or toddler. They know Mommy is there to protect them and keep them safe from harm. There is no doubt in their little mind that Mommy means love.
Who says that need just disappeared over time? The next time your heart is crying, let divine love be the arms we run to for safety. Let Her tender embrace melt the fear and heartache away. Allow yourself to be totally swept away and lifted up in the arms of love.
It doesn’t hurt to have a partner, best friend, parent or spouse who can be that safe place for us, where no words are needed because the love is felt so deeply and everything feels so safe. Whether we do or we don’t have an actual somebody to turn to, we can always count on God, as He has never left our side for an instant. He will forever be the safest possible place for us to go to heal our hearts, for when He heals us, it is permanent and complete.
A verse from one of my favorite hymns by John Dowland reads:
"Everlasting arms of Love
Are beneath, around, above;
God it is who bears us on,
His the arm we lean upon."
May your heart's cries be comforted and replaced with joy. Our sorrow need not carry on for days, weeks or months. Let it vanish overnight. The baby that's comforted is better almost instantly. We should expect and demand the same quick turnaround.
"Our God shall wipe all tears away,
For joy cometh in the morning;
Sorrow and sighing flee away,
For joy cometh in the morning.
Weaping may endure for the night,
but joy cometh in the morning!” ~ Edmund S. Lorenz.
