“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest? [Jesus] said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”—Matthew 22:36-40 (NRSV)
Super Long Intro
Halloween started out well enough. I dropped my daughters at school. Each wore their costume. We had our trick-or-treat plans and our painstakingly curated Halloween playlist. In short, we were ready for a great evening of fun.
All had gone according to plan that day, and I went to pick up my daughters, but something had gone wrong. One daughter, we’ll call her “D1,” looked upset.
Kids at school had made fun of her costume, and she was feeling really low. As a result, D1’s desire and willingness to do anything Halloween related was now non-existent. My other daughter, “D2,” and I were so disappointed.
For the record, these days “D3” is far too cool to get anywhere near Halloween plans with the family. But I digress.
D2 and I attempted to rally and were getting ready to go out when God’s wisdom showed up and D2 said, “I wish [D1]’s friends hadn’t broken her heart.”D1 was indeed heartbroken, and, in an instant, I could see I had been wrong.
With the best of intentions, I had tried to cheer, to fix, to keep things going according to plan. In doing so, however, I had failed to adequately respond to this very real truth.
A Reflection on Daily Living
There is no shortage of pain and sadness in this world. There are many who are suffering, scared, lonely, fatigued, or all of the above. All stem from some level of heartbreak. That is inevitable. “Life on life’s terms,” my mother likes to say.
In response, we learn to hide our tears and sorrow. And, instead, we get angry, we hurt others, we hurt ourselves. None of it, however, is adequate to comfort, to heal.
A Benediction
Therefore, let us have compassion for others and for ourselves.
Let us grieve together. Let us reach for one another when we are hurting.
In doing so, we release something far greater than our pain: LOVE.
