I was in the midst of the kind of crying where the snot from my nose and the tears from my eyes slimed my mouth. My eldest had said goodbye hours before and was probably way past airport security. He was oh so excited about college, and I was excited for him too, but the wake of his goodbye seemed to drown my focus. I just kept thinking about the days I couldn’t bring back and the continent soon to be between us. I missed him.

My bible sat before me (right next to a tissue that should’ve been thrown in the trash two blows before) and I glanced over my reading for the day: 

“This is what the Lord says: ‘A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.’ This is what the Lord says: ‘Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded,’ declares the Lord. ‘They will return from the land of the enemy. So there is hope for your descendants’ declares the Lord. ‘Your children will return to their own land.’” Jeremiah 31:15-17

I was stopped short. God’s word seemed to know all about my runny nose. Not only that, His word told me to restrain myself from the hopeless dismay that seemed to pour down my cheeks. He offered me comfort and encouragement IF I would take it. Would I?

Life has happened in the ensuing years, and so has that snotty tear thing. As counter-intuitive as it sounds, there have been times I’ve chosen to refuse the encouragement God held out to me. I’m not totally alone in this: Asaph, the writer of Psalm 77, struggled for a time with accepting comfort; as did Jacob when he was told Joseph was dead in Genesis 37.

It looks like receiving encouragement and comfort from God goes right along with so many other aspects of this life our Father has given. He offers so much, but I must learn and be willing to accept it. Comfort, encouragement and hope are waiting for me. Will I accept them?