Don't fear the tear

It's great to have someone to laugh with.

Those moments when you can let out a big hearty guffaw, loose control and roll about on the floor.  Those special-memory making minutes of side-splitting euphoria are a gift from God, a giddy release from the everyday normal-ness of life on earth.

But friendships and family-ships aren't powered by the breeze of laughter but by the gale of tears.  It's when a heart is breaking and another breaks with it that the strongest relationships are forged.

Don't be afraid to be afraid with the ones you love. Don't be afraid to cry with each other - when you look back, they will be your most joy-filled moments, the moments when you grow, the moments that make you close, the moments that make you a family.

And if you want to be a church family then you've gotta do the same. Take the stuffiness out of your pockets, remove the plastic smiles from your faces and get real with each other.  Open up to your brothers and sisters and let the tears flow, there is joy to be found in the pain.

For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.

2 Corinthians 2:4

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