Who Is Walking Through A Season Of Sadness

Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

AS MOMMAS, we are well acquainted with tears. Whether it is bouncing an infant on our shoulders to soothe them or holding our sobbing adult children who’ve just suffered loss, we are the comforters of those who cry. But what happens when a momma is the one trudging through a season of sadness? What happens when she is the one shedding tears?

As an older momma, I have gone through many times of sorrow in my almost seven decades of life. I’ve been surrounded by that familiar mist of sadness, like a fog that doesn’t seem to lift. I’ve felt the small warm tears of heartache landing like raindrops on my face as I’ve walked through difficult seasons. I’ve looked out at the gray haze that shadows the sunshine and washes away the peace.

For a Christian momma, seasons like these can be lonely. Being sad isn’t really accepted as a hallmark of a strong Christian woman. Sadness makes others uncomfortable. They may put a time limit on our sorrow, expecting us to get it together, pull ourselves up, and be happy again. So we hide our pain. We don’t want our heartache to spill over onto the feelings of others, so we try to put aside our sorrow and do our best to let others see us as victors over the mist.

But, Momma, the Bible is full of stories of people who cried. It’s full of stories and poems from those who lamented. The book of Lamentations is a collection of poetry written by Jeremiah the prophet to the Lord following the fall of Jerusalem and his people’s captivity in Babylon. Jeremiah cried out in Lamentations 5:15, “Joy is gone from our hearts; our dancing has turned to mourning.” But the Lord heard their cries. He had a good plan for them, as He reminded His people through the weeping prophet Jeremiah’s words: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Tears are important, but they don’t last forever, my friend. “Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” You may be in a season of grief; but sorrow has an end point because joy does return. There isn’t always a literal moment when the sun comes up, but joy in the truest sense comes when the Son rises and His warmth melts away the mist. In that instant, our hearts, minds, and spirits can look ahead again and see the path forward. Until then, we can trust that God is with us and will wipe away our tears.

Tonight we pray for the momma who is walking through a season of sadness. Lord, there are so many reasons she might be sad right now. Tonight we pray this momma would know that You are with her in every moment of her journey. Melt away the mist with Your love so she can see the path forward again. Please remind her that Your joy comes in the morning and that Your plan is good.

We ask in Jesus’s name, amen.

Father, please soothe this sadness that I’m carrying in my heart right now: