Celebrating Sadness

Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. Ecclesiastes 7:3

"I grew up in a happy family. In fact, as a child I wasn't permitted to be sad. When I felt sad, I tried to hide it from my mother. She never said, "Put on a happy face," but I got the message. Since childhood, sadness has produced feelings of guilt in me. To be sad was unacceptable and un-Christian.
Then, Pat Wenger came along.
Pat works in the mental health profession. One day when she and I were chatting, I found myself apologizing for feeling low. I didn't like myself when I was sad and I couldn't imagine she liked me either. She listened attentively, then said, "Luci, don't run from your sadness, and don't feel bad about being sad. Enjoy it because it connects you to your childhood where it all began. Your sadness can serve you."
I was amazed. She added, "Some of your best work will be produced out of your sadness."
That made so much sense. Of course! Sadness is often better than laughter. It gives me deepening moments of creativity, contemplation, and wonder. And that's true for anyone. Many of the most thoughtful, creative, and well-respected projects in the world were produced from a person's sadness or pain.
If you feel sad today, lean into it. Don't fight it or try to put on a happy face. Feel whatever you feel. You are in a good place. Tell the Lord about it and ask him to connect with you right where you are. Then see what surprising things happen."
-Luci Swindoll (Women of Faith Daily Devotional, 130)


I've often had people tell me not to be sad or to get over whatever it is that's bothering me. To read this text in my devotional and to read directly from scripture that it is okay to be sad, really inspired me. The Lord has me in this place for a reason. He has given me these struggles and challenges for a reason. Will I ever know why? Probably not, but I do know that HE is okay with my being sad. HE still loves me through the midst of these struggles. HE wants me to feel beyond the status quo. It is so wonderful to know that the Lord, Father in heaven is not a fickle being and will continue to love me no matter how I feel.