I'm Glad You Are Here

           Today I walked into a meeting and a man who recently lost his wife. I touched his arm and whispered, "I am glad you are here." I thought about saying, "How are you doing?' But I realized so often when I am asked that question I never really tell the truth. I fumble around, say something cheery like, "I'm doing rather well. What about you?" And if you wait long enough, people will generally find something to say about themselves, relieving them of their initial question, freeing them up to not have to talk about your grief.

There are times when we just cannot face our own grief - or that of another.

Just being honest here. Because that is how we feel - sometimes. Oh, it is not that I did not care. I do care. But today I just could not "go there" and hear about the struggle, the pain, the endless questions that pour forth from someone who is grieving. Sometimes we just have to admit that we are not who we hope to be when confronted with the pain of another.

And that is when we must ask God to forgive us, restore us, renew us with His love.

And He does.

Satan works very hard to tempt us, to lure us away from the possibility of being of value to God. Oswald Chambers says that Satan wants to shift our point of view from God to ourselves. And when we allow that - on our weak days - we become self-focused, self-absorbed, hurt, disengaged, even angry. And Satan is so pleased. Our grief has won and we feel doomed. And that is when we need to get back in the scripture and read where Jesus was tempted by Satan. We need to remind ourselves that Jesus never became weary or exhausted, and that we have a perfect model for our lives through Him.

So that we can stop and talk to that person who might need a kind word from us.

So that we can face our own grief, trusting that Jesus knows all about it.

And He does.