Not Abandoned

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A small, nine-year old girl gripped the ball and nervously threw the pitch. The batter hit the ball in a line drive so fast that the young girl did not have time to react. The ball connected with the pitcher's stomach and the girl crumpled face forward into the grass, the breath knocked out of her.

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"She's just pretending. C'mon guys, let's go eat some of that birthday cake."
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The girl still lay face down in the grass. She wanted to move, to talk, but she couldn't find strength to do either. She wanted to scream, "I'm not pretending!" But it was impossible to move. She was conscious for the moment, but barely. Then all went completely black.
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Fifteen minutes later the girl woozily stood up. "Where am I and why am I standing in this field?" Then she remembered.
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Alone. Abandoned. They had left her.
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I was that little girl. Though it's been years since the accident, the day is still vivid in my mind. I was only a child, but I never felt so utterly alone as that day in the field.
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I staggered home into my mother's open arms and she comforted me with these words: "Honey, Jesus understands exactly what you're feeling."
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Those words were true then and they are still true now.
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Do you remember the story of Lazarus? John 11 tells of the death of Lazarus and his sisters' immense grief. But that it is not all. It also tells the story of Jesus' own grief. John 11:35 tells us that "Jesus wept."
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It always struck me oddly that even though Jesus knew that He would shortly raise His friend from the dead, He wept when Mary and Martha told Him of Lazarus' death.
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I do not claim to understand every aspect of this verse, but I think after reflecting on my accident on the field so many years ago, I understand these words a bit more. You see, Jesus felt for His friends. Yes, He knew the rest of the story. But in that moment, He keenly understood what Mary and Martha were going through. So He came along side them. And He wept.
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In the same way, He knows you. He cares for you. He understands you. He loves you.
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He weeps for you. He weeps for me. We are not abandoned. We are loved.
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