Messages from the Heart
“Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.”
-Matthew 5:4
Being in this human condition is not always easy, wouldn’t you agree? We walk through some interesting times, as life is full of opportunities and experiences! Ah yes, there are those times when trials, tribulations, challenges, changes and predicaments seem to be around every corner! And…my belief is that there is truly a balance to all of this. Joy, happiness, peace and contentment are also a big part of our life experiences! Yes, sometimes we need a bit of assistance, a nudge, to take the steps to shift our perception to see the joy, to feel the blessings.
When we look at the second Beatitude: “Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted” can we see this as an invitation to not fall victim to the sadness or grief which can sometimes come from those experiences that seem to be more difficult to walk through? As Elizabeth Sand Turner shares with us from her book Your Hope of Glory, “…man’s extremity is God’s opportunity…and when woes beset us we turn to Him and receive comfort.” Do we always remember to do this, turn to God for our comfort? Or do we turn to God and say something like…”why me God, why did this happen to me…?”
As we look to Jesus, our master teacher and way shower, he gives us insight with this Beatitude. I believe he is telling us to look beyond the appearances of our experiences, to go deeper and know that we cannot, must not, fall victim to sadness or grief, for we are each master of our own self in every circumstance. When we feel that we are at the depth of a particular trouble, when we are at the point when we just “can’t take it anymore…” in that very moment, let go, relinquish the need to control. In that very moment, the blessing of the experience is revealed! Ever have this experience? It is not that God purposefully sends problems our way, that is part of being in the human condition. But it is in those moments that we get to choose how we show up, and to purposefully, with intention shift our way of thinking, to let go and let God.
In review as we look once again at our second Beatitude “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted” let us remember that as we experience “life,” we need only shift our thoughts around it and count it as opportunities for blessings! And it is in that very moment we experience God’s presence in our life.
Blessed be,
Rev. Lei Lanni Burt
