Heartache

Even in laughter the heart may ache.

Proverbs 14:13 (NIV)

I love the tender acknowledgement of heartache in this proverb. We are all very complex, aren’t we, especially us as women? We women multitask even with our emotions. There are many women all around us carrying a world of grief. They may look fine on the outside, but sometimes just one inch below the surface they have a broken heart.

My friend has a son who she fears is living on the streets. Seldom an hour goes by that she doesn’t worry if he’s cold or hungry or in danger. Outwardly she presses on, goes to work, goes to church; yet her heart aches.

Another friend has an alcoholic husband. Life at home is harsh and lonely. She’s worried about the future. She silently slips into church, sits in the back row and sings the songs, but inwardly her heart aches.

When the checker at the store is slow, or you hear yelling in the apartment next door, or your coworker is irritable, don’t just respond with impatience or annoyance. Maybe, just maybe, behind the masks they wear, just one inch deep, their hearts ache.

Isaiah 53:3 tells us that Jesus was “a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (NKJV). This reminds me that when he looked into the eyes of the hopeless single mom or the struggling teenager, he didn’t just see their pain, he felt it.

“Lord, please give me, give us, eyes to see the pain and to care and to be a source of your sweet comfort and hope.”

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Does your heart ache? Can any good ever come from suffering? John Kohlenberger, a gifted scholar, was diagnosed with advanced cancer. As a scholar, he had kept himself away from people. But his illness transformed his relationships. Instead of superficial contacts, he developed deep close bonds with others going through cancer. “My only regret,” he said, “is that it took me fifty years to get here and that it took cancer to open my eyes.” Cancer, caring for a handicapped child, or widowhood puts you in a “club” with others going through similar hardship. Will you look around and see who needs you to pray for them and give them words of comfort and hope?

One Year Bible Reading

Judges 11:1–12:15; John 1:1-28; Psalm 101:1-8; Proverbs 14:13-14