It's Alright to Cry

"It's alright to cry, crying takes the sad out of you..."
This song, on the bright pink Marlo and Friends, Free to be You and Me album, was a fun one to sing to. In fact my sisters and I used to mock it as we sang, wiping pretend tears from our eyes with our fists.
As a child, I adopted the social belief that crying was a form of weakness and this belief has carried on into my adulthood. I allow myself to become embarrassed if my eyes well up either out of grief, joy, or another emotion.
Infants and small children use crying as a way to communicate their needs or frustrations without the use of words. Our natural response is to satiate the crying by meeting the need. Now that my children are older they cry for different reasons, however my response is still the same, to satiate the crying, which I have come to realize is purely selfish. For the truth is, seeing my children in an other than happy mood, is excruciating.
It is very painful for me to see anyone unhappy, and even more difficult for me when someone is grieving.
The bible teaches a different perspective on crying. In Ecclesiastes 7:3 King Solomon, the son of King David, noteably the wisest man in the world, says: Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenence the heart is made better.
When reading this piece of scripture, the words ring true, how cleansing a good cry feels! So maybe laughter is NOT the best medicine after all! The emotional release accompanied by the overflow of tears produces a rush of relief and well being!
In studying God's word, I know my belief that crying as weakness is flawed. Jesus, being God in the flesh, is the most powerful human to walk the earth. His pure ability to choose not to sin illustrates great strength, and yet in John 11:35 we see only two words in that place in scripture and yet they speak volumes. "Jesus wept."
Our Lord Jesus, with power over all creation, power over life and over death, wept with his dear friend as she mourned the loss of her brother. Jesus, knowing all things, knew that He would bring Lazarus back to life, yet he did not try to comfort his friend by telling her this. Instead, Jesus allowed Mary to mourn her loss and He wept with her.
Again in John 11:38 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave.
Jesus, with a deep love for His people, felt their emotion and it moved him greatly, just as it still does today.
I think about how many times I try to comfort someone by telling them that everything will be "okay". Keeping my self distanced from the pain of emotion. Unlike Jesus, who by illustrating Romans 12:15 "Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.", today grieves when we grieve and rejoices when we rejoice.
In Luke 19:41 Jesus weeps over Jerusalem a people he dearly loved.In all gospel accounts, it is written that Jesus prayed in sorrow to God His Father the night before He was to be executed, but Luke 22:44 is the most descriptive. "And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."
Jesus showed great emotion, knowing what He was about to face, a death unimaginable to us today.
Instead now of the feeling of embarrassment when my family sees tears streaking my face after a touching movie, I will praise God that He has created in me a sensitive heart that allows me to feel such emotion.
I praise Him too for His wise words He offers to us in His Holy Word the Bible. Because of His teaching through example, I know now that maybe the best way to comfort, is to allow myself to feel the pain of another, to offer a shoulder and to just cry too.
My prayer for you is that you too can be "Free to be You and Me..", free to laugh but especially feel the freeing release of a good cry.
I pray for a sensitive heart for you and that you can fully express the joys and sorrow in your life through the honesty of your emotions.
Take care and God bless.