It's OK to Cry

Have you ever felt so disappointed you wanted to cry? 

I have. Not too long ago, in fact. 

No one had hurt my feelings. No one had sinned against me. No one had failed to deliver on a promise. But quicker than you could say, “Don’t look now,” circumstances took a turn for the worse, and the hopes I had slipped away like a diamond earring down the drain. 

And no amount of plumbing intervention could bring them back. 

So I did what any self-respecting woman would do – I cried. Big, fat, slobbery tears. Noisy, wimpery tears. Pitiful, sad, tears. 

And in the middle of my meltdown, the part of my brain that thinks instead of feels had the nerve to interrupt. 

“You know,” Thinker the Theologian said. “All things work together for God to those who love God and are called according to his purposes.” 

“I know,” my blubbering self said. 

“And you know,” she continued, “there’s probably a really good reason this didn’t turn out the way you’d hoped.” 

“Uh huh,” I sniffled. 

“And furthermore, you can’t get mad, because it’s not really anyone’s fault. It’s just unfortunate.” 

“I know,” I said. “I know all those things. I know God has a greater plan. I know I can trust him with what I don’t understand. I know he can accomplish good from this. And I KNOW HE STILL LOVES ME . . . . This isn’t a crisis of belief. I’m just sad and disappointed right now, OK? So if you could just save the Truth until I’m done, I’ll be glad to listen. But for right now, I just need to cry a little more.” 

And Thinker the Theologian, in all her wisdom, nodded her Scripture-filled head, wrapped her arms around me, and handed me a Kleenex. 

“Blow,” she said, and I did. 

 If you’ve had a disappointment, or maybe you feel like life’s been just one long disappointment, it’s OK to cry now and then. Tears don’t make you any less spiritual. In fact, I think they might even make us a little more like Jesus. 

“. . . And Jesus wept” (John 11:35). 

“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book” (Psalm 56:8 NLT).

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