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Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
- Matthew 5:4 (NRSV)
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FOR most people, mourning is a strongly negative word, with no blessing attached to it.  Yet Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."  Do Jesus' words sound like an insult when grief is overwhelming?  Does mourning have any positive value?  I now think so.  In the months after my wife's death, I experienced the truth of Matthew 5:4.  Mourning can enrich life and give new dimension to our emotions.  Mourning includes elements of missing, longing, and anger.  It widens our minds and enlarges our ability to feel and to feel with others.

Jesus' blessing is linked to comfort, which is a process that has many stages.  To be comforted means first to admit that we are mourning, which may be difficult.  Exposing our grief may feel like standing naked before others.  To find comfort means to be open.  As children, we never feel closer to our mothers than when we huddle in their arms for comfort.  As adults, we look for people who are ready to listen to our despair and to respond to our need for comfort.

Mourning and comfort are linked.  The one elicits the other.  Mourning and comfort can lead us closer to one another and closer to God, and that is a blessing.

Prayer:  Thank you, God, for being ready always to take us in your arms and to comfort us.  Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Am I ready to give and to receive comfort?-- Martin Bringman (Mariefred, Sweden)

PRAYER FOCUS: Those in mourning
Source :The Upper Room Daily Devotional -- E-mail Edition