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The tears of a child

Tears. They overwhelm us, makes us uncomfortable, embarrass us, but when they flow in gentle cascades down the sweet, innocent little face of a child, they squeeze our heartstrings, searing every organ with deep founts of love for the innocent one who weeps.

Children's eyes should brim with innocence and joy, never with tears of pain and loss. Unfortunately, in this fallen world, children shed rivers of tears; bitter torrents that should never spring forth from eyes so new to the world.

Children hold a special place in the Father's heart. On earth, the little ones are often overlooked, abused and taken advantage of, but in heaven, they hold a special place of honor. In heaven, children have angels assigned to each of them. These angels are in intimate contact with the Father, whose nature is revealed throughout the Bible. 
"See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you, that their angels in heaven continually behold the face of My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 18:10). 

Your little one in heaven is safe, cherished and protected in our Father's arms, but millions of children who are still on earth do not know that joy.

Won't you join me in praying for the children of the world, for the ones who have only known backbreaking labor their entire lives, hunger, pain and suffering? 

Let us not close our eyes against the tears of a child. 

We might not be able to help every child, but we can help some of them. The inhabitants of the Philippines have been hit hard by Typhoon Haiyan. As many as four million children are without food and water as aid effort struggles. 

Let us ask God how He would have us help these innocent ones. Please remember them in your prayers and if you can, make a donation by visiting this page. 

http://www.compassion.com/typhoon-hits-philippines.htm?referer=ph-typhoon-134566

Father, we pray for the four million children who are crying in the Philippines, we cry for the countless who have been left orphans and homeless, unprotected and hungry. Please bring them comfort through our arms, our hands, our legs, our very hearts. Let us wipe their tears together.

In the name of Jesus we pray and thank you. Amen. 

The thawing heart

Denial is a powerful balm.

It is like a bandage you clumsily affix upon a wound in hopes it will be enough.

However, the time will come when God will have to remove the bandage and let you walk through the valley of the thawing heart. It will hurt like nothing you could ever imagine. 

The protective layers you had wrapped around your heart to muffle the pain will be snatched away, leaving you exposed before God and the world: Your wound will be gaping, open, red and raw.

Memories will begin to resurface at rapid speed, giggles and sweet expressions of love you heard every day will taunt you and coil around you like a snake refusing to let go of its prey.

A barrage of tightly-locked memories of your child will cause your heart to tingle and compress. The cracks will be revealed, the agony will roar like a pack of lions while your heart disintegrates right inside your chest: A bomb of numbed emotions has exploded and you are left reeling from the suddenness of it.

Once again you come to the realization you are not in control. Your heart is rebelling against you and there is nothing you can do to stop it. Don’t ignore or repress the emotions, and above all, don’t attempt to hide behind godliness. When people ask you how you are, don’t feel you have to answer with a Bible verse and claim a joy that is not yours-yet. Unacknowledged emotions only fester and corrode the walls of your heart.

Be brave and acknowledge your emotions before God and a few close family members and friends. Only then will you be able to deal with them in a positive way. 

It is not wrong to feel anger, bitterness or resentment. You have lost your child, something completely unnatural according to our finite understanding of life: our children are supposed to bury us, not the other way around. 

Unfortunately life doesn’t conform to our logic or desires; we can’t cajole it into submission. Only God sees the big picture.

You may never fully understand why your child was taken from your loving arms, but rest assured one day, God will reveal it to you, here or in Heaven, and then, it will all make sense. “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13: 12).

You have two choices, two paths to thread upon: you can be bitter about the times you won’t get to spend with your child, or you can be thankful for the time you did get to spend with him/her. You can blame God for what happened and turn away from Him, or you can give Him your pain and run to His outstretched arms. The choice is yours.