He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.
-Revelation 21:4 ESV
Susan worked with preschool children throughout her whole career and knew every routine and trick of the trade. She prided herself on a happy, positive environment. Hardly a tear was shed before she would distract, entertain, and divert attention to something cheerful and happy.
Susan was always eager to mentor her techniques to younger teachers and speak up whenever she felt like they were not managing the situation in an optimal way. The truth of the matter was that Susan was a little smug about her teaching skills. Her healthy professional self-esteem had turned into blind pride.
Every now and then, a child came along who resisted Susan’s charms and skills. Whereas the other teachers would shrug off a certain amount of crying as part of the daily routine, Susan would become anxious and self-conscious.
This school year has turned out to be the worst yet. Despite redoubling her efforts and trying every trick in the book, Susan could not get one little boy to stop having daily crying jags. Why wouldn’t this little guy cheer up on cue as so many others did?
Susan swallowed her pride and opened up to a friend whose wisdom she trusted. When the friend asked what Susan had tried, she listed her positive diversions and distractions – every trick she had to cheer a child up.
The friend observed wisely, “But what if he just needs to cry? What if he needs your validation and needs you to walk this road with him?”
We all have times in our lives when we are that sad little boy. Our sorrows are very painful to us, and we don’t care to feel dismissed or belittled. And while a little distraction and cheerfulness may help, it is not the soul-soothing cure our hearts are aching for.
We are promised in the Bible that in this fallen world we will have trouble (John 16:33). And while positive thinking is a good general practice, it is not meant as a cure-all, and our ultimate happiness will not be found in it.
We are blessed to have Jesus who cares about our sorrows and hardships, and who walks through them with us. He grieves when we grieve, and He sympathizes when we hurt (John 11:35).
When we act as Christ’s servants and messengers in this world, it is certainly our place to bring good news, gladness, and rejoicing. But it is also our role to suffer with those who suffer. We come alongside of them in love with words of encouragement, but sometimes our greatest love and ministry is to walk through that time of suffering and let it play out as it needs to before healing can begin.
Sometimes we need to be like Susan, who swallowed her pride and lovingly held a little boy when he needed to cry, and dried his tears without shushing him or making him feel like he needed to swallow very real emotions and hide them.
Someday, when we say goodbye to this fallen world and enter eternity, Jesus will be the one to wipe away all of our tears. He who tenderly and willingly stood with us through each sorrow will now lift them from us and bring us to a place of true joy, not feigned cheerfulness.
The love and promises of Jesus are the only cures for our sadness. Until that time, we are thankful that we can lean on Him and on other believers when we need to shed those tears. We pray that His lovingkindness would be in our own hearts when we need to be present for others in their times of sorrow.