Mama Always ~ L.A. Brown, Author

It was a beautiful morning, it really was. The sky, a brilliant blue, I had one dog, Izzy, snuggled up against my back, snoring. Another dog on the floor, blissfully sleeping, and a puppy, who really isn't a puppy anymore, pawing at my blankets, snuffling at my neck, encouraging me to get up because he had to pee. Typical morning. As is my routine, I began my morning thanking God for His protection through the night, His new mercies, and the Lord's Prayer...then I continued with my intercession for the day. Because I do not say 'amen' at the end of the Lord's Prayer, for me, it means that my prayers are ongoing throughout the day. I came to find out last week, that I am not the only one to do that...a man who is a wonderful music minister does so as well. As I continued my morning routine, let the dogs out, fed the cats and fish, and made my coffee, I continued in intercession, praying for a dear friend who is fighting to get well. She was in a horrific car accid...

Jesus wept. That is the shortest verse in the entire Bible, but it speaks volumes about Him. Jesus, fully God and fully Man. Human from stem to stern. To say that He never experienced what we do now is, according to this verse, totally false. He encountered racism, segregation, slavery, bias, prejudice...joy, anger, the gamut of emotions, and no doubt He even encountered counter-cultures, but none of it, not one iota of it can compare to the emotion of grief. To put it bluntly, today, Jesus can relate with me, and with others who are going through the process of grief. In the Bible, Jesus was ministering to those around Him when He got word that one of His dearest friends was very ill, close to death. He acknowledged the news, and continued healing and teaching.  After two more days, Jesus told them that they needed to go to Judea, so that He may "wake" Lazarus. Confused, the Apostles queried that if Lazarus was asleep, then surely he would get better. Jesus had to be blunt...