I’m not one who is normally prone to quote contemporary proverbs; but in the last 24 hours I’ve received three that have me wondering if Providence is speaking to me.
After contemplating the matter I have decided that she is not only speaking to me, but is writing it in crayon; meaning the message is so elementary that I would have to be dense headed to miss it.
The first came from Pam’s dear friend Cindy, who happens to be a licensed counselor. Together with her husband and my dear friend Dave, we spent time together last Monday recounting God’s faithfulness, mourning our collective loss in Pam’s death and generally catching up on lives, which have seemed to move in different directions in recent years.
While texting back and forth yesterday about the shared experience she quoted a Swedish proverb- “Shared joy is double joy, and shared sorrow is half sorrow.”
Last evening the oldest daughter of our dear friends Bob and D stopped by for wine with Heath and me. After a delightful two hour visit, again catching up, which of necessity included, but by no means was limited to time discussing our collective grieving of the loss of Pam, each of our lives were enriched, our burdens lightened and our spirits uplifted.
After Laura left, I discovered the bottle of wine she brought was wrapped in a tea towel with the following inscription:
FRIENDS make good times better and hard times easier.
Here’s the message that is my take away, particularly if you are presently navigating life alone: find a friend(s). Find those who understand you, love you and will walk out life with you.
Of course I recognize that both of these contemporary proverbs are really nothing new. They are a recapitulation or restating of what God has, through the apostle Paul, told us long before:
Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Romans 12:15
My prayer for you is simple, may you find those who can walk this path with you honestly and humbly, which leads me to the third proverb that came through the weekly pen of Jerome Daley.
Honesty is grounded in humility and indeed in humiliation, and in admitting exactly where we are powerless.~ David Whyte
Humility is the mortar for shared joy and grief. It is humility that keeps us even planed and avoids situations where those sharing our emotions are neither above our present station, nor below. In humility there is no need to reach up or down for the hand of those with whom we share our grief or joy. It strips away the platitudes such that none need be the teacher or the pupil, rather we share the experience as peers.
Herein our lives will be made richer, our experiences more shared and together we may help fulfill our most basic end in life, to glorify God and enjoy his presence forever.
Brad