Prodigal: Howdy!
Me: How is your day?
Prodigal: I am having a rough day today. Relationships can be difficult as they grow.
Me: That is true. I was just reading about relationships.
This comes from the book How Firm a Foundation: A Gift of Jewish Wisdom for Christians and Jews by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
There is a Jewish story told of a young man who visited his rabbi and became so overwhelmed by the emotional experience that he cried out, “Rabbi, I love you dearly.” The rabbi, who was both touched and amused by his student’s sincerity, asked him, “Tell me, my son, you say that you love me, but where do I hurt? What ails me?” To this the perplexed young man responded, “I do not know where you hurt, Rabbi, but, nevertheless, I love you dearly!” The rabbit then replied, “But how can you say you love me when you do not even know where I hurt and what brings me pain?”
A true relationship means that not only you know what hurts me but you are there for me when I do hurt. Sometimes life gets hard. Sometimes it is one of those days where you just hurt and suffer. You know God, you know God loves you. You know there is a plan. You know that life with God is better than life without God. But today you are hurting. Today you feel suffering. Today you are weak, with no strength. Today the prayers and the bible passage have spoken to you but they do not seem to get past the heaviness of hurt that has swallowed up your day. I need you today, to understand that I hurt. You might not be able to stop the hurt and that is ok. Just pray with me and let me not be alone in my hurt.
And then God says
Malachi 3:6
For I am the Lord, I change not; therefor ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
