Sadness and Truth

AM Psalm 119:49-72 • PM Psalm 49, [53]
Deut. 9:13-21 • Heb. 3:12-19 • John 2:23-3:15

Psalm 119:71 says “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.” Why does the Psalmist believe that his illness, injury, or troubled heart is leading him closer to God?

In When the Heart Waits by Sue Monk Kidd, she says “Without such upheaval we would likely go on as always. It’s so like us to deny things until some jolting moment--something we call an “eye opening” experience--comes along and sharpens our vision.” Our egos are very tough and protective. They help us act consistently in a world that doesn’t always feel rational. But when a big life event comes around-- something like a diagnosis, a death, a job change--that can crack open our egos and let in lots of material that was kept out before.

I think back at times in my life when I have heard God and experienced spiritual growth. One example is when both of my grandmothers died within a week of each other a decade ago. I was at each of their sides before the end of their lives. After the frenzy of the funerals died down, I was profoundly sad. But that sadness led me to very deep truths about the end of long lives, and began a change towards deeper spirituality whose fruits I didn’t see until at least four years after the deaths. My protective walls had crumbled down and a new truth was able to cross the threshold into myself before I rebuilt them.

Written by Haley Hixson

You can see me at the 11:00 service and milling about during coffee hour.