And I Cried Some
February 25, 2019
It is fun to hear what people have to say about Four Weeks during or after they read it. One reader wrote that she marked a lot of pages to go back and study further. She was grateful that I wrote the book in a relatable and easy to understand fashion. She said some things touched her heart, and she cried some. I have heard that from other readers as well.
I cried some too, as I wrote and edited. The feelings displayed by the characters were real to me. Eliciting tears was not a goal of the book, but I did want the story to be real. Real life has times of crying, times of crying a lot. The character Connie used up a box of Kleenex™ and covered the passenger side floor of her van with damp tissues. I’ve done that.
For a long time, I held the belief that strong women didn’t cry. It was a sign of weakness. Bottle it up and march forward! Even now, I don’t typically cry more than a few tears in front of others. But I have gone for a drive, like Connie did, and poured out my heart to God. I used up all the Kleenex™ and the napkins in my glove box and the partial roll of paper towels in my trunk! It was worth every tear because that heavy-duty crying session brought a release and peace. They were tears with a purpose. They washed away pain that I had been holding and brought me to a place where I could forgive.
Crying is part of the human condition. Ecclesiastes 3:1 & 4 says:
1 To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance…
Our lives are not meant to be filled with only laughing and dancing. There will be times of weeping. But, our lives are also not to be filled with only weeping and mourning. There has to be times of laughter and dancing. Romans 12:15 says:
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice [sharing others’ joy], and weep with those who weep [sharing others’ grief].
I am looking for balance. And, I think that is what Connie is looking for, too. In writing about the struggles of the characters in Four Weeks, I hoped to convey to the reader that it is okay to feel sad sometimes, or angry, or awed, or embarrassed. It is part of the human experience. It is not weakness; it is resilience! Praise God for that!
