" Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."
Matthew 5:4

These pictures are from a book that I made for my Dad a month before his death.  It contained favorite hymns, verses and art to comfort him after he found out that he had stage 4 cancer.

Yes, Jesus did comfort me and my father.  He led me to my father's bedside to pray and comfort him in his last 3 days on earth.  My sorrow was indescribable.  He died at 3:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, Sept. 25, 2010.  I returned to Md. the next day to mourn with my family.  He was my last remaining parent, my children's last remaining grandparent.  My mother had died many years ago.

But again, this particular part of Jesus' sermon was referring to being vulnerable, recognizing and acknowledging our sin...mourning the sin that hurts us, others and God.  The Bible helps us identify particular sin and encourages us to confess our sins to one another and repent.

There is great joy when we repent not only to Jesus who bore our
sins but to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

"find out what pleases the Lord."  Ephesians 5:10