FAITH CONNECTION – FARMERSVILLE UMC
Encouragement for June 8th, 2020
The following contribution is from Jenny Michael
Scripture for Reflection – Psalm 34:18
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Reflection – A Broken Heart
I prefer to see the glass as half full. I’m a relentless optimist. I can find a silver lining in the darkest of clouds. I believe in declaring a good day and going out and having one. So it took me awhile to understand why I was feeling a little off. What was the darkness that I was trying to find the sunshine in? Why did the glass seem half empty.
It finally hit me… I was brokenhearted. I was mourning the loss of our son’s senior year and all the rites of passage that come in those last few months. I was sad when close friends lost their jobs. I was grieving for my friend who lost her Dad during this pandemic and was unable to say goodbye. I cried for a week while watching our beloved dog’s final days with no escape from it. I was brokenhearted as I watched the news. I looked for a silver lining—for sunshine on some very dark (and record rainfall) days. But this optimist kept coming up empty.
Then as God often does, he showed up in my morning reading. It was almost as if I received permission to feel the sadness that was around me and in me. I did have a broken heart. I was sad, and just like that—the silver lining appeared. I believe that to truly feel joy, we must truly feel sadness. Said another way, we can’t see a rainbow without first a little rain. We have all grieved some sort of loss during the past few months. While each of us have been impacted in very personal ways we all share a common bond, we’re in this together and God is with us.
It’s OK to feel the heaviness that surrounds us. It’s OK to feel brokenhearted. And it’s also OK to feel the joy that comes after the sorrow. It is actually the core of the Easter story. Without Good Friday, there would have never been the resurrection. It may feel like Friday, but Sunday is coming!
Prayer
God in heaven, in our days of darkness when we are searching for a rainbow, we turn our worries over to you. We know that you are close to the brokenhearted. You are our great comforter and in times of sorrow and in times of joy, help us to stand on your promises. Lord hold us close during this time of trial and help us to find the little rainbows that are waiting for us. Amen.