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A Woman's View
by flybynite
The Beatitudes
I found myself one evening reading these verses from my childhood. Although familiar, I had never thought about what they meant in terms of daily living. I wondered if I could tell a story that might relate one point of view. I am not a bible scholar and I want to state now that I am sure there are better and more accurate definitions than the following stories. I simply put this task in prayer and asked God to help my heart find a story to make these words come alive. I stopped when I got to the Pure in Heart verse as I have not felt a conviction in my heart to write about this. I finally had to realize God still had some work to do with me before I could understand the last two verses of the Beatitudes. .
I would like to thank the people who have read these with me and have encouraged me to post these finished stories. It is my hope they will prompt you in your own search to discover the beauty in God's words.
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Blessed are They That Mourn for They Shall Be Comforted -- Matthew 5:4
The old woman held the young woman as she let out her grief over her dead child. There was no way she could tell her the pain would eventually go away. All she could do was to mourn her loss with her as she had done so many times before. Her mind drifted back as the woman cried the tears needed for cleansing a broken heart.
She remembered the first time she faced death at the tender age of ten. The tornado had swept through the prairie town so quickly that almost none of the farmers had time to escape. So much destruction and death surrounded her. Her family's farm had been spared but her neighbors had not been so lucky. Her mother had taken her to help out the families hit hardest and she remembers the look of despair and shock on the families. She had been put in charge of the children as the adults worked at digging graves and trying to restore what was left of farms. She had gathered fifteen children, most only a few years younger than herself and a few older ones still in shock at the loss of their parents. They had sat in a circle stone faced and silent and even at ten, she knew that wasn't natural. A pain had ripped away at her heart causing her to cry out in violent sobs. She had tried to hold the grief back afraid it would frighten the children more but she was powerless to stop the flow of tears. It was then that she noticed the children had joined her and the barn was filled with crying and shouts of despair. Only then could she put away her own tears and gather them into her to hold and comfort. She had gathered their pain into herself to lessen their load. They had walked in as children but left wise in the ways of death. She had left knowing God had used her in a powerful way. In the years to come she was always called when someone had lost a love one or was carrying a grief to heavy for a human heart.
It was often a heavy burden, taking in all that grief, but it was a gift that she firmly believed was from God. Some folks thought it would be the death of her or cause her to be old before her time and warned her to not bother with other folk' worries.
She had just smiled and said, "it weren't no real trouble". No one understood the joy that came out of the grieving person when some of the pain had been relieved. Not the "all is fixed joy" but the kind that came from the recognition they could still live and love again.
Rather than become bitter she had found herself becoming more sensitive and kind as the years wore on. For with the pain she had shared great love and that always came back to you tenfold she decided early in her grief ministry. It was a ministry, that ability to share pain and sorrow year after year. She had her own share of sorrows as most folks do and her heart was touched when others came to her in those times and comforted her.
She always felt it was a sign that her work was pleasing in the Lord's eye. The young woman's weeping had stopped and the old lady rocked her gently in her arms. "There my child, let it all out and then let it go. Your memories will always keep her alive. Don't try to carry the burden alone, no one can you know. But come to me when you need comfort, don't go down the road of grief alone."
The woman looked up into the kind blue eyes with gratitude. "I don't want to be a burden, I just don't seem to have anyone that really understands my pain like you."
"Burden? Never child! If my heart gets too heavy, the good Lord will ease away the useless stuff and fill it with one of His many blessings. I'm 89 this coming June and I've seen human pain for most of my life. It don't wear me out though. I've felt the Almighty's strength leap through this frail body of mine till I fairly burst with the love He has for his people. I know that love seems hard to understand right now, but that's why I am here, to let you know God hasn't forgotten about you." It was midnight before the woman slept and the old woman could find her way to the makeshift bed on the couch. She wouldn't leave her just yet.
It was shortly after her 90th birthday that the old woman passed away. They said she had a smile on her face that was set so firmly in place, everyone at the funeral had to smile back when they viewed her. She had written one short sentence on the piece of paper they had found next to her. "Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted--yes, indeed Lord, you have given my heart constant comfort and now I'm coming home."
flybynite writes for Skateboard and manages several areas in the WomenCentral and UnderWire Communities on MSN.
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© 2000 flybynite
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