“Golden Teardrops.” What a name for a plant! What could be “golden” about teardrops? Yet my little sedum in my garden boasts this odd moniker. It sports tiny yellow flowers in late spring. Golden Teardrops sedum is a prolific grower, and has spilled over the rock border in my corner garden to the point where we have to either trample on it, or walk into one of the planting beds on the other side of the pathway. This stuff is everywhere!
Tears are everywhere. Today I heard from a dear friend and former classmate who has cancer. I have literally been crying with her over the diagnosis of advanced Stage Three cancer and the upcoming treatment.
One of her friends told her that her sharing of this information on Facebook was offensive. She had even shared that she and her husband “cried together” when they understood the grueling, hard road ahead for her treatment.
We are told to “Rejoice with those who rejoice” (Romans 12:15a, NASB). Sometimes that’s easier said than done. When my friends go to Jamaica, or obtain a rare iris or daylily, or buy the dress I had my eye on in the store, I should be happy for them. I usually am. Good news is easy to rejoice about when you love someone.
Now for the hard part. “Weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15b). Same verse, second half.
We may get used to being happy for others when they have good things happen to them. But when bad stuff seemingly falls out of the sky? Oh, no. This news might rub off on me and make me sad. Sometimes we shy way from bad news because we don’t want to share the pain or sorrow.
In fact, a social media site decided to do an experiment about this. Facebook recently admitted to using their members as human guinea pigs, as they manipulated the news feed for certain individuals. One group got mostly good news, and upbeat status reports from their friends while the negative ones were hidden. The other group was subjected to the opposite. They received mostly negative news in their feed, and any positive or happy posts were hidden from them.
The result showed that those who were “fed” the saddest news began posting sadder or more negative posts themselves. I don’t know about you, but I’m a little sad and depressed that my emotions might have been used as part of an experiment!
The sadder fact is that many of us veer away from sad news because we know it will make us feel sad. We all just want to be happy, after all. Right?
The result is that the people who are having a hard time are cruelly isolated. Job felt this. Even though his friends were there to comfort him, they seemed detached emotionally, and did not empathize with him. It may have been more torturous than having no one there at all!
Just like my sedum, there are teardrops in so many places today. This sin-sick world is sometimes a sad place to live, even though we know it is only for a short time. But the blooms are golden! A hug from a friend, a meal sent to a family, a few dollars for gasoline, a card or a bouquet; these can brighten a person’s life during tearful times, and endure in the heart to be treasured as if they were gold.
Let’s not be stingy with golden deeds. There’s plenty to go around!
–Christine (Tina) Berglund @ www.forthright.net