A good friend shared that she volunteers at her church cleaning the altar and she was feeling terrible about lots of things in her life. Then one of her fellow workers asked her to do something and she started to scream back at her friend. She admits that whatever her friend wanted set her over the top and she just lost it. She has no idea what she was complaining about, but she felt embarrassed and walked over to the confessional to “squeal on herself.” Obviously, it must have been 4 o’clock in the afternoon if father was open for business.
On her knees, she told the priest her sins, but she started sobbing in the confessional. The kind man listened through her tears, but she felt burned out from all the stress in the past few months and the healing came as quickly as the squealing. Father gave her penance of three Hail Mary’s and she left relieved but went up to her fellow volunteers to say that she was sorry.
You have to admit we go through so many stresses that there are moments we feel like screaming at the top of our lungs. It actually can be quite relieving, but screaming while cleaning a pew was quite a shock for her cleaning buddies.
Once again, it was moment to trust that God can help us surrender our tension and give us the hope that the brokenness we experience can be mended with a kind word. Her cleaning buddies told her to go home and get some rest and don’t worry about cleaning the linens. They would gladly pick up the load while she went home to take a nap. Better yet, she had the kind of friends who do not hold a grudge and gossip behind her back. She was having a bad day and they promised to pray for her that all her troubles would be resolved and she back helping again.
Lord, only knows that our shouts and screams are a cry for help when life gives us more than we can handle. The compassion comes from our friends who offer a hug and reassuring words to take a break and they promise to check on us to make sure that we are felling better.
Thank you Lord for such wonderful friends who don’t take us seriously but allow us to vent and holler and give us the grace and courage to persevere through the miserable days.
Immanuel prays for us as we reflect; “I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for help.” (Psalm 116:1).
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who squeal on themselves in humility for we know that we are not always at our best. Thank you for friends who accept us when we are a terror and take us into their arms with no questions asked. What a surprise and wonderful grace to be loved by a God who hears the cries of his people.
