{"id":21963,"date":"2024-06-29T12:51:04","date_gmt":"2024-06-29T16:51:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jaredingle\/?p=21963"},"modified":"2024-06-29T12:51:04","modified_gmt":"2024-06-29T16:51:04","slug":"rejoice-even-in-our-tears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jaredingle\/2024\/06\/rejoice-even-in-our-tears\/","title":{"rendered":"Rejoice | Even in Our Tears"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

""<\/p>\n

God has a way of helping us rejoice, even in our tears.<\/p>\n

But then I recall all you have done,
\nO Lord;\u2026
\nPsalm 77.11.a<\/p>\n

This verse is the hinge on which Psalm 77 swings. This Psalmist is contemplating terrible things. Then he begins to recall what the Lord has done. This changes the nature of the rest of the song.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t planning to write about my son, neither last week nor this week. However, it seems proper to do so. He visited and spent 2 1\/2 weeks with me. As many of my readers have deduced, I am in a transitional phase of life. Therefore, my time with my son was some of the most priceless moments I\u2019ve had in years.<\/p>\n

One moment happened in the car on our last night in Missouri. We left my apartment, and I nearly lost it as I shut and locked the door. I realized this would be the last time he would be in my apartment for a while. I had wanted it to be like a second home for him. Unfortunately, my sister stole that designation away from me when she had my son over to spend time with her son. She told him she wanted her house to be like a second home for him. So hopefully mine is right up there as a second home or third home. He certainly felt comfortable in my apartment, and made himself at home.<\/p>\n

After locking the door and nearly crying, we made our way to the car, got in, and started the drive to my parents\u2019 house. We were going to leave from my parents\u2019 house early the next morning to return to Virginia.<\/p>\n

It was silent. It was dark. My son wasn\u2019t saying anything. I knew that anything I would say would unleash tears. Finally, while he was looking out his window, I managed to say:<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for spending time with me in my apartment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hot tears started streaming down my cheeks. I kept my eyes on the road, crying and sniffling. He turned from looking out the window and saw that I was crying. It dawned on him that he would not be in my apartment again for quite a while. He started crying as well.<\/p>\n

I would say we held hands and cried the rest of the way to my parents\u2019 house. But it wasn\u2019t quite like that. We grasped for each other\u2019s hand, and held on.<\/p>\n

I am in tears now as I write this.<\/p>\n

When I think of all the things the Lord has done for me\u2026<\/p>\n