“Woman why are you weeping?” She said to them, “they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” John 20:13
You know how when something wretched has happened, but then it turns out really amazingly wonderful? You know how you then retell the stories, saying, “and it looked so bad, we thought we are going to lose, everything was going wrong. But then…” In the week following Jesus’ resurrection, those closest to Jesus experienced such story reversals. Listen to what Dan Allender says about the importance of remembering sorrowful stories:
“Sorrow cannot steal our faith or even cause it to be lost; betrayal and loss steal our faith only when we refuse to remember, tell our stories, listen even as we tell them, and explore the meaning that God has woven into every one. If we want to grow in faith we must be open to listening to our own stories, perhaps familiar or forgotten, where we have not mined the rich deposit of God’s presence. With better eyes and ears we will sense how God has worked to redeem even our most tragic experiences.” Dan Allender, The Healing Path
For reflection: what stories have you reached into to mine the rich deposit of God’s presence? What did you discover?
