Big Boys Do Cry
When I was growing up, I learned at an early age that big boys don’t cry. I am not sure who came up with that line…but it is a lie. Jesus wept, and he was a grown man when he did. It is OK for us to show emotion.
Having said that, I still get embarrassed when I find myself shedding a tear in public. As I have gotten older, I find myself crying over a multitude of things:
- I cry when I see God answering a prayer.
- I cry when I see someone hurting.
- I cry when I see someone bless another person, expecting nothing in return.
- I cry when I see injustice.
- I cry when I hear about someone I love passing away.
- I cry when I see my children going astray.
- I cry when I get hurt, whether physically or emotionally.
- I cry when I experience the love of God.
There is an joke about an old man who came upon a young lad who was in tears. The old man said, “Son, why are you crying.” “Because I can’t do what the big boys do,” said the little boy. The old man thought for a minute, then he sat down and cried too. LOL. There is some truth to that joke, unfortunately.
Smokey Robinson had a famous song many years ago called The Tears of a Clown. It is about how we hide our tears behind the laughter…how we mask our feelings. Let’s be real and quit clowning around…no disrespect to Clowns. It is OK to shed a tear. It is one of the things that shows we are human.
Shalom!
Dan Skognes