No one teaches us how to cry. From infancy, our most primal and natural way of communicating is to cry. We are in pain. We need something. There is something we want that we don't yet have. And so we cry.
As we get older, we may be told not to cry. So we find other ways to cope and manage our pain. The need to cry never goes away, but it gets buried deeper inside of us.
Earlier this week, there was a tragedy that shook our world. It caused us a deep pain. Our souls were stirred with grief.
Grief unearths our tears from where they are buried. We feel pain, suffering, disappointment. Our souls are stirred, and something deep within us feels the need to cry.
God created us to cry. He created us in his image, meaning that grief and tears are a part of God as well. When we feel grief, we live out of our God-created selves. Grief, though painful, allows us to know God more deeply. Grief also allows us to know each other more deeply -- we enter into friendship and companionship with others.
As we grieve, we can be sure that God is drawing us closer to himself and his heart.
If your soul is stirred by grief today, as mine is, I invite you to cry with me.
Let us cry over the deaths of these precious, beloved children of God.
Let us cry over the hate that moves people to terrorism and violence.
Let us cry over families and friends who are devastated by the loss of their loved ones.
Let us cry over a nation that has had far too many mass killings.
Let us cry over a broken world that is entrenched in sin and evil.
Let us cry over entire people groups that are marginalized, scared, and in deep pain.
Let us cry over fearful prejudice that prompts dehumanizing through actions, words, and silence.
Let us cry over our despair, confusion, and hopelessness.
Let us cry over our world that is waiting, waiting, waiting on God to rescue and save.
Larissa Marks is a spiritual director, ministry planter, and Director of Spiritual Formation at Bluewater Mission Church in Honolulu, Hawaii. She is the creator of Spiritual Journey. Sign up for her weekly Spiritual Journey notes for guidance sent to your inbox. You can also find her at her personal blog The Larissa Monologues. She lives in Honolulu, Hawaii with her husband and three kids.