Monday's Mourning Ministry - The Rugged-Cross Way: The Way of the Griever / Through the Fire ~The Crabb Family

Monday's Mourning Ministry

The Rugged-Cross Way:

The Way of the Griever

Through the Fire ~The Crabb Family

A dear friend was upbraided this week for asking her friends to pray for her brand new grandbaby who was found to have a potentially debilitating defect at birth. The so-called "friend" told my friend she should just take this before the Lord privately and not ask anyone else to help her pray for the precious child! My friend was greatly hurt and wondered,

~ Aren't we to be merciful to one another, and help to "carry one another's burdens"?

I wondered:

Is this the wave of the future, the possible result of many sitting under the ear-tickling pastors who lead people to think that loving God means "having our kingdom here now," so that any difficulties we may have might lead others to think our lives are not peachy-keen and therefore a bad reflection on God...

Thinking of her and all of us child-loss grievers while praying midst my insomnia in the wee morning hours, I felt the urge to write the following poem:

The Rugged Cross Way:

The Way of the Griever

We are going through severe losses;

Tears pour down with our mourning song.

Jesus calls us to take up our crosses,

But you? ~ You tell us we are doing "it" wrong!

You tell us that in taking up our cross,

Our hearts bleeding out, our breath sucked away,

That it's a sacrilege against our Lord of the cross

Who died on the cross to take all loss away...

Who suffered for us that we could now thrive...

So that when we weep and mourn our great loss

Of the child we fought so hard to keep alive,

You think we're maligning our Lord of the cross,

That we should be quiet, happy all day...."

And yet our Lord says ~ Blessed are those who mourn;

He knows the depths of the hurt thrown our way!

Our angst, our hurt, our tears He does not scorn;

He merely says ~ That's the rugged-cross way!

Why do you think on That Day He will bless

Those who reach out and love ones who hurt most,

Yet throw out those who tout their own righteousness,

Who taunt "the least" with holier-than-thou boast?

Be careful ~ ye who criticize, malign

The humble cross-bearers who follow The Divine

Who wisely warned ~ In this world, you will have trouble,

But for all your tears here, your joy will be double.

If you choose to be unmerciful to us, "the least,"

Perhaps you have swallowed Pharisee's deadly yeast.

What we have learned as our tears make us meek,

We draw closer to the God whom we seek;

Our tears, though they pour, restore our vision,

Keenly clarify our earthly mission:

To go through earth's kingdom, pouring out love,

Lifting up "the least" to see God's Kingdom above.

So, while you busily build your kingdom here,

We will bear our cross, as God catches each tear.

*****

Through the Fire

~ The Crabb Family

written by Gerald Crabb,

solo sung by Gerald's son Jason Crabb

So many times I've questioned certain circumstances

Or things I could not understand.

Many times in trials, weakness blurs my vision

And then my frustration gets so out of hand.

O but instead, I am reminded I've never been forsaken

And I've never had to stand my test alone

That's when I look at all the victories

And the Spirit rises up in me

And its through the fire, my weakness is made strong!

O, He never promised that the cross would not get heavy,

And the hill would not be hard to climb;

He never offered our victories without fighting

But He said help would always come in time.

Just remember when you're standing in the valley of decision

And the adversary says give in,

Just hold on, our Lord will show up

And He will take you through the fire again.

I know within myself that I would surely perish

O, but if I trust the mighty hand of God,

He'll shield the flames again, again!

He never promised that the cross would not get heavy

And the hill would not be hard to climb;

O, He never offered our victories without fighting

But He said help would always come in time.

Just remember when you're standing in the valley of decision

And the adversary says give in,

Just hold on, our Lord will show up,

And He will take you through the fire again.

So just hold on, our Lord will show up,

And He will take you through the fire again.

He never promised that the cross would not get heavy

And the hill would not be hard to climb;

He never offered our victories without our fighting,

But He said help would always come in time.

Just remember when your standing in the valley of decision

And the adversary says give in,

Just hold on, our Lord will show up

And He will take you through the fire again.

Just remember when you're standing in the valley of decision

And the adversary says give in,

Just hold on, our Lord will show up

And He will take you through the fire again.

So just hold on, our Lord will show up,

And He will take you through the fire again.

So just hold on, our Lord will show up,

And He will take you through the fire again!

Pictures: thanks to FotoSearch

Poem - The Rugged-Cross Way: The Way of the Griever - Angie Bennett Prince - 7/17/2011

Video - Through the Fire - The Crabb Family - http://youtu.be/VP4OvUU-ZHU