What God Wants
In my last post I wrote about Nui. Yesterday she joned The
Well. Some Thai friends came by with another young woman they
had been helping--I'll call her Sai. Sai is just 20, with a 4
year-old son she hasn't seen for 2 years. She comes from a
northern province notorious for families selling their
children.
Sai was depressed. With only a 6th grade education, here
basically alone, she felt helpless and hopeless. As we
interviewed her she silently fought back tears, mostly with success,
but a couple of times they flowed freely. She never
sobbed--the tears just quietly pooled in her eyes and cascaded down her
cheeks.
I poked around a bit on the 'Net for info about emotional
tears. As I suspected, animals don't cry, except for a big
'maybe' on Indian elephants and seals. Chimpanzees do
not. Here's one interesting article: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/08/27/1061663846142.html.
Its author notes:
Interestingly enough, for most poeple crying is by far the most difficult emotion to fake. Laughter, fear, anger--anyone can do that. But real tears? The tongue-in-cheek litmus test of a good actor is can they "cry on queue". But it's a rare movie indeed that shows tears silently erupting from the sad but motionless face of an actor or actress.
I would argue that tears are also our most infectious emotion. I can see someone in fits of laughter and be amused, but I won't necessarily join them. Someone can be in an absolute rage, and while it will trigger various emotions depending on the situation, normally I don't find myself becoming angry unless their anger directly involves me or someone I care about. But put someone in front of me with genuine tears about something entirely not my problem, something we see quite often of course among bar girls, and were it not for my years of learning to be clinical, I'd also be needing a tissue.
My dad cries easily--it's something he sees with a bit of embarrassment. It usually happens from joy, when something touches his heart. Everyone loves him for it of course. Tears exist because of and for the purpose of love. Nothing makes friends faster, brings out the best in others, more than tears.
The Bible gives a delightful picture of Heaven in its last 2 chapters. It's quite simple: a huge city, 1400 miles cubed, "prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband." This not the carnal paradise of Islam or childish speculation where we get everything we want. It's about God, Love Himself, getting what He wants:
Sitting there watching Sai's silent tears I couldn't help but note that I was seeing what God wants, and why I wouldn't trade this for a staffed mansion on a Mediterranean island with a yacht. He has a thing for helpless, hopeless people. He likes nothing better than to lift up the chin of one and softly dab at those tears. "It's ok now. You can stop."
Sai moved into The Well today. Both she and Nui, who cried with Judy on Sunday, are happier, and so am I. So is God.
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