Since the beginning of time, tears and sorrows have filled this world.
Different people grieve in different ways, but we all feel the same pangs
of death and sorrow it brings.

An ancient tradition in the East were the use of tear bottles

Mourners are called to weep, lifting up their cries
preparing for a burial as the custom was when someone dies.

She was just a child, suddenly becoming ill, all that they had
done had not made her well.

Anointing her with sweet scented oils, painting her cheeks
placing rings on her fingers and toes
a necklace of gold and bracelets of silver, wrapping
her in linen

A procession begins, mourners following close behind, weeping
tears in their bottles to place in the tomb of the child, in remembrance of the dead.

It is said when King David was in custody
of his enemies he wrote
“You have seen my tossing and turning through the night
collecting all my tears and preserving them in Your bottle”*

God is a tenderhearted Father to us, a God who
feels with us and weeps with us.

Exodus 3:7
He remembers our sorrows, as if He keeps each tear in a bottle!

*Psalm 56:8 The Living Bible

Cain became jealous of his brother Abel,
and rose up against him and killed him.
Cain was banished to the land of Nod,
and Eve grieved the loss of her two sons!
* * * * *
But when Adam knew his wife once more,
she conceived and bore another son.
And kneeling in prayer, with tears she wept,
Her God had replaced Able with Seth!
Every day at the break of dawn, in her arms
she held her son,
repeating the story of forgiveness of sin
and the promise of a Redeemer who would restore
Paradise again!

That day it seemed strangely quiet, as if the streams had suddenly
stopped, the flowers had withered, and the birds had flown away.
At the time of the evening hour, they had always waited at the bench
for their Visitor.

Just the night before they had heard the sound of Him walking in the
garden.
And now a voice was heard, “Where are you?” And Adam said “I heard
Your voice, and I and my wife were afraid, and ran and hid!

Fair Eve, the woman God gave Adam to be,
veiled in light and beauty to the eye.
Tempted to doubt God’s command,
to the forbidden tree she crept,
not heeding the warning, plucking the fruit.
The once divine seed now a noxious weed.
With tears of sorrow she wept!
At that moment, eternity ceased
and time began,
a cooling chill crossed the land.
The sting of the serpent
struck her heart,
His sinister voice following her close,
as she ran and ran,
Where was her dear Adam then?

And out of the ground, God spoke trees,
fruit for food
and pleasing to the eye
fed by the river of life.

Safe in the garden under their shade,
in the midst of Eden, were two trees
one of life they may freely eat, but of one
they must not pluck, no, not even touch!

January 13, 2024

After That Great Week of Time!

And God planted a garden eastward in Eden and
there He put the man He had formed…*
and a river went out to water the garden.
The blue heavens for a dome, with a carpet of living green,
and delicate flowers in their rapturous colors.
It is hard to imagine a place like this,

But heaven’s time is not in our time
it is not limited to our space
it extends beyond the
imaginings of the human mind
to God a day is as a thousand
years in an eternity of bliss!

* Genesis 2:8

With the holidays nearing their end, sometimes
there is a time of letting down, with an emptiness
within, that could be called the aftermath of Christmas blues.
* * * * *
And with a new year just around the corner
it is a time for reflection.
The third day of the first month of the new
year is the anniversary of the birth of a significant
loss in my life.
* * * * *

…All is quiet after the company has come and gone, and I’m not
sure what to do on this eve of a new year.
Maybe watch a movie or just go to bed early, waiting for
the night to pass?
Or I could write a letter –
“You know there is a lot on my mind, a time for memories
of things I would rather have forgotten. My reasonings
are not safe, my thoughts are not good and I’m tempted
to fall into grief and repinings.
I had three but one is missing, my heart is thankful for the
two remaining.
But Lord, did you not have ninety and nine, but for the one
lost sheep You searched, until you found him?
You never gave up until You brought him home!
Excuse my questioning, but like Job of old who had many
more losses, questioned Your goodness
but never with cursing.
And then there is mine, You know for him I gave my all
but he couldn’t stay and fled away and now he is gone.
This lays heavy upon my heart,
why some are taken and some are left.
Its been a long road of grief and pain, as I have struggled
with doubt and tried not to complain. I do feel better now that I have
shared these words, and with the new year fast
approaching,
My prayer is for acceptance, that You know best!”

Five days past the blessed birth
Magi follow our Savior’s star
The Holy Ghost, having planted
a Child in a virgin girl
In a humble inn, oxen and ass
look upon this amazing sight
A baby’s soft skin in a cradle of hay
wrapped in swaddling clothes
prepared for Him
A young lamb by its mother’s side
bleats its sound with angel’s cries
A mother holding her child to
breast, a father kneeling beside His crib
In fields shepherds abide, keeping
watch over their flock by night
Prophecy of old, that night fulfilled
Hope, light and joy have come into the world!

The glow of the Advent candles shine with the light of
Hope, Peace, Joy and Love
wished upon all!