Big Girls DO Cry
A few years ago, musical artist Amy Grant wrote a beautiful song called “Better Than a Hallelujah.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to her song with tears in my eyes. My hunch is that Amy, like many of us, understands the beauty of brokenness.
God doesn’t expect us to be happy all the time. He understands that we aren’t always in a “hallelujah” place in our lives. As women, we need to understand — no, we need to believe — that God is always at work in our struggles. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Jeremiah 29:11: “I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope,” (New Living Translation). A future and a hope.
God knew we would need both! Though we suffer loss and rejection, we don’t grieve like the world grieves. We grieve with hope. Our hope is this: one day God is going to settle the score. One day God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. One day God will make all things new. And what’s more, the Bible teaches that He’s actually closer to us when we’re struggling and suffering than at any other time in life. The Bible says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed” (Psalm 34:18, New Living Translation). It’s when we’re suffering that we experience God’s peace more acutely than at any other time. God is near to the woman who has been abused and abandoned. He understands the indescribable pain of a woman facing rejection. He longs to comfort the mom who has lost a child (born or unborn). God sees the woman struggling with the sting of regret over choices she has made. He sees the mother who sits on her bedroom floor at night, eyes wet with tears, clutching a picture of her broken family. He longs to touch and comfort us. He understands. 
ILLUSTRATION: stockphotosecrets.com
STRONGER THAN YOU THINK
Have you ever looked into the faces of the people who call you “Mom” and wondered what in the world you got yourself into? Let’s face it: Moms today are facing questions that previous generations didn’t even see coming. Popular speaker and blogger Heidi St. John believes that today’s mothers need a special kind of strength. In Becoming MomStrong, she equips you for a job that only you can do: train your children to hear God’s voice and walk in truth — no matter where our culture is headed.
