Definition
Sorrow – The outward expression of grief; lamentation, morning, physical pain or suffering.
(Oxford Dictionary)
The year 2020 has brought with it a lion size load of sorrows.The sorrow of the pandemic, the sorrow of the social division of our country, the sorrow of the many who have lost jobs or businesses, and of late, the sorrow of an unseasonable hurricane. This small list may be only the tip of the iceberg. We must be reminded that grief and sorrow are an integral part of life. We can never escape sorrow, but we can learn the role of sorrow in our lives.
Sorrow is a time of discovery. During our time of sorrow we become aware of our essential needs of life. Before we experience sorrow , grief or loss we feel that we need every toy, trinket, person or status that we enjoy. The sorrow of loss then allows us to discover who we are without some of the trappings and people that we had so depended upon. This is a discovery that can make us stronger than we were before.
Sorrow is a time of cleansing. As we experience the sorrow of disappointment or loss, we can cleanse our lives of the unnecessary things or relationships that may be harmful to us. As we cleanse ourselves, we come to understand the necessary and cleanse the discretionary. Our lives become less weighty and much more uninhibited.
Sorrow is a time of healing. Undeniably, sorrow is a heavy burden. It comes with loss and disappointment. Our souls cry out in our times of sorrow for healing. This healing can only come through our faith. When we allow our faith to become the healing catalyst, we open the door to a complete healing of the soul. Through this process of healing, we find ourselves newer and better people.
Sorrow is a time of perspective. When sorrow enters our lives we take a fresh inventory and begin to sort out some things. This sorting brings some new perspectives that cry out for change. As we shift into the post-sorrow paradigm, we can become different people. Life takes on new meaning, new energy and new direction. Some things that seemed so important are now very much relegated to a different place in our lives.
Our time of sorrow is a time of learning and growth. No one ever invites sorrow into their lives, but it will come. During our time of sorrow we must look for the purpose of the sorrow. As the Sufi mystic, Rumi, tells us,”It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart, so that fresh, green leaves can grow in their place. “
Be aware that sorrow will be followed by joy.
We need never be ashamed of our tears.
― Charles Dickens
Do not apologize for crying. Without this emotion, we are only robots.
― Elizabeth Gilbert
Those who do not weep, do not see.
― Victor Hugo
Deep in earth my love is lying And I must weep alone.
― Edgar Allan Poe
No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.
― C.S. Lewis
She was a genius of sadness, immersing herself in it, separating its numerous strands, appreciating its subtle nuances. She was a prism through which sadness could be divided into its infinite spectrum.
― Jonathan Safran Foer
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.
― Kahlil Gibran
Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before–more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle.
― Charles Dickens
Sorrow prepares you for joy. It violently sweeps everything out of your house, so that new joy can find space to enter. It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart, so that fresh, green leaves can grow in their place. It pulls up the rotten roots, so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow. Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart, far better things will take their place.
― Rumi
Some of you say, “Joy is greater than sorrow,” and others say, “Nay, sorrow is the greater.” But I say unto you, they are inseparable. Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.
― Kahlil Gibran
Given the choice between the experience of pain and nothing, I would choose pain.
― William Faulkner
Well, here at last, dear friends, on the shores of the Sea comes the end of our fellowship in Middle-earth. Go in peace! I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.
― J.R.R. Tolkien
Why did I ever come forth from the womb
To look on trouble and sorrow,
So that my days have been spent in shame?
~~~Jeremiah 20:18
In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,
~~~1 Peter 1:6
For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow.
~~~Philippians 2:27
And they began to weep aloud and embraced Paul, and repeatedly kissed him,
~~~Acts 20:37
Then Joseph fell on his father’s face, and wept over him and kissed him.
~~~Genesis 50:1
Now they were all weeping and lamenting for her; but He said, “Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep.”
~~~Luke 8:52
By the rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down and wept,
When we remembered Zion.
~~~Psalm 137:1
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit.
~~~Psalm 34:18
Lord, There are times when I despair in sorrow, but I know that you will allow me to emerge from that sorrow with new purpose and understanding. I ask you now to help me to navigate this time in such a way that I still have hope. I put myself into your arms of mercy and love, and ask for relief that only you can give.
Amen
A Pastor's Thoughts 