Reading 9

Mark 5-8

Do you sigh? I sigh. Sometimes all too frequently. And most times, if I’m perfectly honest, my attitude is usually not the best when I’m sighing.

But you know what? Jesus sighs. We’re told twice in today’s reading that he sighed. Deeply. So why did it catch my attention? Truthfully, when I read the first mention (Jesus “looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said…”) in Mark 7:34, I didn’t think much of it. That is, until only 15 verses later I read that “he sighed deeply” (8:10) and it struck me that I had just read those words. I had to find them again and when I did, I kept thinking about them.

Jesus sighed deeply.

Today, I sighed deeply too. I was frustrated and disappointed. And that attitude of mine? You guessed it: not so good. The strange thing was I heard myself sigh. I remember when I was a child, my family told me that I was a “sigher” – I sighed a lot. And the reason they informed me of that tidbit was because the vast majority of the time, I didn’t realize I was doing it. But today was different. I heard it. *sigh* And almost instantly, I was very aware of my not-so-stellar attitude.

I realized that for me, the simple words that Jesus sighed deeply were significant to me because they served as a reminder that he understands. He understands frustration. Concern. Relief. Disappointment. Contentment. Grief. Relaxation. He sighs. He gets it. He knows what it’s like. He’s been there. He knows my situation, my struggles, my attitude, my sighs.

And because of that understanding, I can know his hope. The hope that he knows my situation and he is right there with me through it all. He knows my struggles and he gives me strength. He knows my attitude and still he loves me. He knows my sighs and he sighs with me.

With that comes a sigh of relief. *sigh*

Cristin

(Reading #9 audio)