My radio spot for the week. Listen or read along. You pick!
Photo by Rebecca Tredway Photography
I have a very emotional five year-old daughter. The other day she was crying because she’s going to have to get shots to go to Kindergarten. . . six months from now. A couple weeks ago she was crying because she just realized the dog won’t live forever. I told her he will probably live for many years so we don’t need to waste any tears about it now. She told me, “I’m not wasting them, I just like to use all the tears I have every day.” I can’t say I understand that philosophy, but I do see how it plays itself out in her daily life. She is tenderhearted and I look forward to seeing how God is going to use that to bless the people he places in her path. In Psalm 56 we read that God keeps our tears in a bottle, but I imagine for Bethany he must have a bucket. It is beautiful to me that even when my mommy patience is worn thin, God cares about her tears and I can point her to him in prayer. It’s a good reminder to me that my sorrows are precious to him, too. Even if I try to tell myself the things that grieve me are silly, I know he cares and sees the reasons for my pain that go beyond the obvious circumstances. Knowing God’s compassion for our sorrow makes it easier for me to offer compassion to my daughter in her struggles- the real ones and the imaginary ones.