A look of Agony

I like it when grown men cry. And maybe you think that's just because I'm kind of a sensitive guy, and maybe that is part of it. But I need it for more than that. Men can get upset and angry about something that they care about. But when a man sheds a tear, that says more than any word could. Emily Dickinson wrote about how she liked a look of agony, because a man can't feign agony. Agony, and choking back tears, it's not necessarily this terrible thing. We feel agony when we absolutely feel for someone else. I heard a story yesterday of a missionary in Ukraine, that was asked what he would do if he was shut off from funding in the case of his country being absorbed or controlled more by Russia. he said it didn't matter. The man sharing the story choked back tears. He experienced a little slice of agony, and it was the healthiest possible thing. I wish we weren't so quick as a society to shove that away. It makes us feel uncomfortable, so we move on, we stop telling the story, we say thank you and try to forget it. You know how many of those stories will be told in the next life? How many stories will be told through joyful, agony filled, tears? It will be wonderful.