Things that make me cry

I hope you have a little time to read.

Because you need to read this post by Ann. She writes on the poignant pressing in of intimacy in marriage and how we sometimes resist it. Her vulnerable account of different seasons of her own womanhood is powerful. How she wrestles with her own beauty or lack thereof after birthing six children is so personal yet pricks at something incredibly universal. It made me cry. You should read it. It may just inspire you to lean into your marriage, when you feel like leaning out. Here's a taste:

And why would a woman rather scrub the grime of the tile grout in the bathroom for her husband, make him plates of heaping mashed potatoes, light the candles, scour the pots, wash his underwear, rather than say yes to his wooing?  Is it pride or is it shame (and maybe they are the same only by different names) or is it a symptom of a deep wound bleeding unseen...


And then there's this post by Aly. She writes on romance, but not in the way you think. This post will shake you up. I promise. It made me cry. You will feel uncomfortable at some point. But in a good way. Our beliefs about ourselves and God's love for us need a shaking up sometimes. This will do it. (AND she just started blogging. So what in the world. Follow her.) Here's a taste:

this week God is sweeping me off my feet. he is showing me that i don't need to wait for romance. i don't need to long for it and wish i had it. He wants to romance me. He wants to make me feel like i'm the only woman in the room. the only one He desires. He wants to show me how He sees me. no matter who or what has broken my heart [and he knows the list is long], and no matter what i've done [that's a long list too] to deserve pain and anguish, He loves me.

Now don't laugh at me. But bear in mind, I've been cooped up in a house with sick kids for nearly 2 weeks. We've watched a LOT of movies. Not all were worth our time, but this one was. So I am not ashamed. This movie made me cry.

Quit laughing. It's really good.

It is the story of how a child turns your life upside down and rearranges everything you always thought was important and allows you to be the hero you always longed to be.

Um, and yeah. This one made me cry too. But gimme a break. At the end, it's basically a Jesus-laying-his-life-down-to save-us scene. Kind of.

Everyone thinks the boy, Hiccup, is dead. (I'm gonna spoil it right now. But you didn't think he'd actually be killed off anyway, right? He's the star of a children's movie, for goodness sakes.) Everyone starts to mourn for him after the final battle scene, after the fire. But then the smoke clears and the wings of his dragon friend wearily unfold to show that Hiccup was safely wrapped against his own body as he himself endured the brunt of the fire. This story is full of redemption and bravery and love.   

And last but not least, you ARE watching Parenthood right? The most recent episode which I watched last night on my DVR really got to me. More than one story line was about mothers and daughters and trying so hard as a parent to NOT project your own baggage onto them as they grow and take risks.

Parenthood is only one of two shows I regularly watch. Almost every episode makes me cry. Lots of real life family situations. Lots of me taking mental notes the whole time about what to do or what not to do when I have teenagers. And lots of me wondering if and when I'm gonna have one of these talks with my daughter. And oh yes. I will.

So I'm down a few tissues. And I've just offended both Ann and Aly by putting their amazingly insightful words on par with kids' movies and weeknight drama.

But truth be told, I kinda like being moved to the point where there's a lump in my throat and my eyes start to blur. That means someone else is speaking something precious about life. They took the time to write a script or a book or a blog post about the human condition in one aspect or another. We need the medicine of regularly opening our hearts to the stories around us. Letting ourselves feel what someone else felt. Really feel it. Drink it in.

Because when someone else's story pierces your heart, you realize you were following your story all along.