Forever Beloved

Faith, Love & Truth

Ministry Of Tears

I am a heart on my sleeve kinda gal.  Always have been, always will be.

Tears come easily for me.

I cry easily and oh-too-often.  I cry when I’m sad, cry when I’m happy, cry when I’m angry and cry when I’m overwhelmed.

I seem to cry at church, a lot.  A hymn will remind me of a loved one who has passed away, a prayer will strike a chord in my heart or a sermon will resonate with me and the tears will flow.  If I can hear my Dad singing during an old hymn, the tears instantly flow.  I’m often so overwhelmed with God’s presence that tears flow down my cheeks.  And that one time I photographed a Baptism in the River…a guy just walking down the road walked directly into the water and accepted Jesus.  Whew.  That was bucketloads of tears.  Sheets of water.  A monsoon.

I cry when someone tells me a touching story about their lives.  I cry when I share a piece of my heart with another person.  It fills me with waves of sympathy, empathy or gratitude and these emotions often manifest in the form of tears for me.

I cry every single time I hear a testimony or share my testimony.  And at church camp when we used to sit around the campfire and have “testimony night”, I was thankful it was dark…I cried the entire time.  I still cry when I hear “Friends are Friends Forever”, takes me right back to our teary church camp goodbyes after a week of worshiping together.

I cry at nearly every episode of Little House and The Waltons.  I’ll cry during a movie I’ve watched 245 times, at the exact same spot, and will continue to cry for the next 100 times I watch it.  PS I Love You…Beaches…The Notebook…Steel Magnolias…Marley and Me…big fat tear fest.

I’ll cry listening to a song. Sometimes it’s because of the lyrics, sometimes the melody.  Sometimes it’s because of a memory the song brings to the surface.  Music is so powerful – a song can truly bring you right back there.  I cry every single time I hear Taylor Swift’s The Best Day.  Jade and I have coined that our song and it creates buckets and buckets of tears.

I cried when Joey Feek died.  I cry every time I read a blog post so beautifully penned by Rory.  I sobbed while I watched her funeral online.

I’ll cry as soon as I hear or see someone else crying.  After the first sniffle, hear a catch in their voice or after I see the first tear I am done.  It doesn’t matter if I know you, doesn’t matter if I know why you’re crying…I’m just here to silently cry along with you.

Goodness, I just cried this morning when I read my daughters Facebook post for her best friends birthday.  I cried as much as they did when they saw each other the last time before leaving for college.  Their hearts breaking broke my heart.

And since I’m laying it all on the line…yes, I cried when Dumbledore died.  A more accurate statement would be I was a complete sobbing mess at that part in the book.  And Snape, I cried when he died…in the book and in real life.

I’ve always been a crier.  When I was a little girl I cried when I watched Winnie the Pooh because Eeyore was so sad.  His sadness made me sad for him.  And I cried.  I cried watching the Muppet Movie when Miss Piggy was mean to Kermit.  She hurt his feelings and his sadness made me sad for him.  And I cried.

My tears have absolutely no filter.  It doesn’t matter who I’m with, who I’m talking to or what I’m doing.  As soon as I feel my throat tighten I know the flood gates are about to open.

For years I’ve been horribly embarrassed and ashamed of my tears.  So many times I’ve prayed “Lord, please let me make it through this without crying”.  It never fails though, the tears always flow.  And in the end, I’m left embarrassed that I couldn’t hold myself together.

Then one day it hit me.  Maybe these tears are my ministry.  Maybe these tears are my spiritual gift.  I can weep with those who weep, mourn with those who mourn and comfort those who need it.  Maybe my tears can keep them from feeling foolish for their tears.

I hadn’t realized before just how many criers there were in the Bible.  Jeremiah was known as “the weeping prophet” {Jeremiah 9:1}, David was a mighty warrior and king and an emotional basket case {Psalm 6:6}, the bold Apostle Paul grabbed himself some tissues {Acts 20:19} and lets not forget the shortest verse in the Bible Jesus wept {John 11:35}.

Tears play an important role in Christian life.  Often when tears are mentioned in the Bible they accompany repentance, love or sorrow for the lost.  Remember when a prostitute crashed a party at a Pharisee’s house to see Jesus?  In a shocking display, the woman wets Jesus’ feet with her tears and wipes them with her hair.  Jesus said her tears were evidence of her heart being right with God and He forgave all her sins.

God gave us these emotions and tears for a reason.  He built me this way.  He knew long before I came along that this girl was going to be a crier.  God knew about every tear I would ever shed.  If your emotions, whether it be sadness or joy, are strong enough to bring tears from your eyes then they don’t deserve to be stifled.  God can use anything we surrender to Him.  Laughter and tears.  Joys and sorrows.  Victories and mistakes.  Strengths and weaknesses.  We minister to others best when we offer our true selves, as we are, not waiting until we’ve dried up our tears.  Right now, leaks and all.

As much as I fight the tears, I am beginning to see them as tiny teachers, small messengers of deeper truths, evidence of a soul that has been moved by another.  I am learning to be thankful for them.  And to remember to carry tissues, always.

Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.
Psalm 126:6

Meal Planning Monday

 

Monday: BBQ Chicken, baked potatoes and stuffing – Comfort food guys, my favorite!

Tuesday: French Onion Chicken and Rice Bake – A super quick and easy weeknight casserole.  Especially if you have canned chicken on hand!

Wednesday: Sweet Sausage Sandwiches with Grilled Peppers and Onions and oven baked fries – Y’all, it doesn’t get much easier than this crockpot recipe.  Throw it in before work, have an amazing meal when you walk through the door.

Thursday: Beef Stew and Homemade Bread – Listen y’all, I know the way to my mans heart and this meal will be it.

Friday: Date night – Much needed since I’ve been under the weather for the past few weeks

Saturday: Pulled Pork Sandwiches and Macaroni Salad – Every time I ask my oldest what he’s hungry for, his reply is always pulled pork sandwiches!

Sunday: Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli with Sticky Rice – This beef and broccli recipe is not only super easy, but it tastes amazing!  I actually like it even better than takeout.  The sauce is just out of this world.

If you make one of the recipes I share, take a picture and share on Instagram! Use the hashtag #foreverbelovedmeals so I can see what you are making in your kitchen! And don’t forget to follow me on Instagram!

National No Bra Day {and why I hate it}

This is a day that I dread, one that makes me cringe.  As many of you know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  And October 13 has been deemed national No Bra Day or Free the TaTas.

I am the daughter of a woman who not only fought breast cancer but won that fight. And not only one fight, but multiple times. Her fight spanned across many years, each one being tough in it’s own way.  From 1981 through 1989 she battled and fought.  And throughout it all, she only asked God for one thing…to allow her to live long enough to raise her daughter.

From her perspective, those years had to be frightening.  The first surgery she had in 1981, she nearly lost her life.  The cancer was more advanced than they first anticipated, and a partial mastectomy had to be performed.  The next battle resulted in a complete mastectomy.  And the last battle included chemo and radiation.

When she first found out she had cancer, I was only six years old.  I can remember playing with the neighbor kids and waving to her as my Grandpa took her to the hospital for her first surgery.  I can remember hearing whispers of her condition when I was around.  I can remember crying, because I just wanted my Mama home.  I can remember the look on her face the first time she showed me her changed body riddled with staples.  I can remember the nights she spent sick from chemo and radiation.  The days her stomach would only allow her to eat rice.  And the morning I found her passed out on the floor because her white blood cell count had dropped.

The intent of this post isn’t to gain sympathy, but rather to give you a glimpse of what the reality of breast cancer is.

Her and I have had many, many discussions about ‪No ‬Bra Day and Free the Tatas. And to a breast cancer survivor, to a woman who fought to live so she could raise her daughter, to a woman that spent many days sick from radiation and chemo, these campaigns are completely offensive.  Not only offensive but also belittling and demeaning to the pain and suffering she endured.

This is a great post from a survivor and I think sums up most of their thoughts on this:

The thought of seeing bra-less women flaunting two body parts that I have lost to cancer — more than I already see this on a regular day — does not feel all that supportive.  In fact, it feels quite the opposite

I don’t understand how a day where women are encouraged to share photos of their braless breasts is to be “supportive” for women who are living with or who have died from breast cancer, or who have managed to ‘complete’ the arduous treatments and disfiguring surgeries required to put them into remission?

And as my Mama said:

It’s as much as them saying “Look, I have them and you don’t.”

This day, which many buy into, is nothing more than sexualizing breast cancer.  It’s sexualized by social media users who use the campaign as a guise to post pictures of themselves topless with no intention of promoting breast cancer awareness or donating to research charities.  And that, my friends, is sad.

Breast cancer isn’t sexy, it’s devastating.

I suggest we change October 13 to National Check For Lumps Day, or perhaps National Get Yourself To The Doctor Before It’s Too Late Day.  Cancer patients don’t have time for cuteness when it comes to the potentially fatal disease they’re faced with.  They do, on the other hand, have an appreciation for realism and action.

Ask a real survivor what you can do to promote breast cancer awareness or how you can honor her fight.  Their answers would include get a mammogram, run a race, donate to the Susan G. Komen Foundation or simply be there for someone fighting a battle.

Taking your bra off isn’t the answer.