mourning

In my class the other day, we were discussing how difficult life can be and how our culture does not know how to mourn. We are so consumed with being entertained and the concept that life is meant to be enjoyed that we don't know how to stop the entertainment and be sorrowful when it is necessary. We don't weep and wail in times of discouragement and pain, instead we cry silently to ourselves, wondering if anyone is hurting too. We don't know how to mourn.

It is true that we have hope in this world. My husband's grandfather is currently lying in a hospital bed, stable, yet being closely monitored for changes. The next few days are going to be very telling concerning the quality of the rest of his life - if he lives. Yes, we have hope that if he dies he will be with Jesus. Yes, we have hope that if he lives, God will take care of him. But do we know how to mourn the fact that his life will never be the same again? Do we know how to weep with him over his loss? Do we know how to mourn with his wife during this terrifying time of uncertainty? I don't think so.

We throw around phrases, "Lord willing," and ignore our own feelings and desires. We don't know how to cry out to God the way David did when the Lord said He was going to take David's son because of David's sin. David cried to God, he covered himself in ashes and wept, he fasted and prayed. He mourned the imminent death of his son. People in Jesus' time would weep for days over a death. They would go to the family members and stay with them in sorrow. People today might consider this depressing. I think it was healing. Today, we don't want to ever feel sadness. Well, the world is still fallen and there is still sickness and sorrow in the world. There is still the need for tears and empathy and lamenting together. We need to mourn together. We need to bear one another's burdens, to feel their pain and to sit in it. We need to mourn.