TEARS

The strangest things make me cry-singing the Welsh national anthem at a rugby match, Welsh hymns, seeing a bunch of people working together as a disciplined team to achieve something, (especially if they are young.) a happy-ever-after-ending in a film, and watching a good military band! Twice in the past few days there have been tears in my eyes at church.
Firstly at the Cardiff citywide prayer meeting when Debra Green from Manchester told the story of a Christian police officer who was the laughing stock of his colleagues, at least until he stood in the doorway of a house and shielded other officers from the terrorists inside. He was shot and died in the act of protecting his friends.The view of people who knew him in the police force changed dramatically-they realised that this person who had faith in Jesus wasn't a weakling but was actually brave enough to lay down his life for his friends.
Secondly, this morning in church when Alison Sutherland, a medical missionary in Tanzania and about to return there, showed how she tested people for AIDS. That's her day to day life, travelling the villages showing the Passion of the Christ on a big screen in the evening and carrying out AIDS tests the following day. Alison demonstrated the simple testing procedure and detailed how she had to give devastasting news to many people every week. Yet along with this devastating news she could offer hope and faith and love in the name of Jesus. Our pastor, Chris Cartwright, later continued the series GIFTED about spiritual gifts and rightly identified Alison as someone exercising the gift of mercy.
Sometimes it's good to shed a tear.