I needed to hear this just now

Myself, I have nothing to say right now, pushing my way through some dense forest, to find the source of that Light up ahead, because I know Who is waiting for me there. But I heard my friend speaking these words from his heart, and they strengthened me. I needed to hear this just now. Perhaps this poem will speak comfort to you as well. It is entitled…

Two Sorrows

Regret not that sorrow coming from heavenly places
Such as this bears the fruit of repentance and life

But resist at every turn the sorrow of the world
Within it is the seed of despair and the bloom of death

The Father’s hand preserves all things in Christ
Such a preservation as this calls joyous, sorrow

Each hair counted even when cut
Each foot washed though filthy
Each wound cleansed of corruption
Each sight cured in blindness
Each hand held though frail
Each heart healed with tears

Is it better for us to live deaf from our sins all our days
Or be given words that stab our lungs and steal our breath?

Blessed is the sister that gives such words kindly
Cursed is the brother whose weak tongue fails him

He who has from the days of Cain comforted sinners downcast
Will send myrrh-bearers with their fragrant oils to your door

— David Dickens, Nothing Hypothetical