November 2, 2023 Sow While You Cry
The harvest season, punctuated by colorful fall foliage, though delayed, is here!
“Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy” (Psalm 126:5 NKJV).
Sow While You Cry
So much has transpired this year! Weekly mass shootings, the raging war in the Middle East, Ukraine, and elsewhere, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, loss of loved ones, and more.
Betty and I traveled to New England in late September hoping to experience the grandeur of the landscape draped in a magnificent burst of color, but this year, the colors did not come until mid-October, almost as if delayed while we witnessed so much devastation and destruction, which undoubtedly caused the very angels to weep and grieved the heart of God Himself. Yet, the beauty and brilliance of this year’s harvest season, while slow in coming, has been nothing but spectacular and a gift from God to His creation! God uses everything around us to teach us important lessons.
When life as we have known it for so long transforms into the unfamiliar; when people whom we have depended upon and shared so much with move on or die; when health issues compound and the world seems to have turned upside down, it’s normal to cry. It does not matter what your gender is, man or woman, boy or girl, it’s okay for the tears to roll down your face.
But crying should not be all you do. While you cry about your troubles, do something for someone else. Bless someone. Do something worthwhile. Plant, sow, and cultivate while the tears are flowing.
The God’s Word translation of Psalm 126:5 says, “Those who cry while they plant will joyfully sing while they harvest.” Ah, there it is! Cry, but make those tears work for you. Let them water the seeds of blessings you sow into the lives of others as the tears of God water the earth. And in so doing, you too will reap a harvest of joy—joy that will soothe away your tears and leave you with a song of rejoicing!
I am so grateful for everyone who is a part of our Sick and Shut-in Ministry. I am thankful for the friends of our ministry. Several of our members have or have faced serious health challenges. But many of you still reach out to check on and pray for others who are sick. I am also thankful to Team 6 of the GMCHC Ministerial Alliance for which I am privileged to serve as team leader along with Elder Doris McRoy. You are individually and collectively a blessing to many, through consistent praying in targeted focus areas for others and the powerful homilies you share at our monthly meeting, as well as the other ministry projects and activities in which you are involved.
God knows your individual struggles, health challenges, and difficult circumstances. And he sees the seeds you sow into the lives of others while you cry. So, if life has dealt you a blow, go ahead and cry. But sow while you cry!