If your friend starts crying, pull up a chair and grab a tissue. Be like Romans 12 and mourn with those who mourn.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada. Often when people are diagnosed with a life-changing medical condition, they feel choked by hopelessness. Those are times when really great advice just doesn’t cut it. That’s because answers don’t always reach the problem where it hurts: and that’s in the gut and in the heart. God knows this, and so He gives us Ecclesiastes 3 which speaks of a time to weep and mourn. And oh, if we would only be quick to “mourn with those who mourn” as God tells us to do in Romans 12. Today, you can be that agent of healing and hope in the life of a hurting friend by simply sitting with them. Listen to their fears, pray for them, keep them connected to the mainstream of life. That’s the answer they need. In time, your advice and words of wisdom will reach their heart. But at first, when tears flow, draw up a chair, get out the Kleenex, and weep with those who weep.
© Joni and Friends