Reflections by Maxie Dunnam

One of our favorite pastimes is to spend time thinking about how well off other people are and how bad off we are. We have so many sorrows. We think so many bad things have happened to us. Why is it that we suffer? When John and Jane go untouched, why do we deserve to be punished in this fashion? 

The Hasidic Jews have a story about the sorrow tree. According to them, on Judgment Day we will be invited to hang all of our own miseries from the tree of sorrows. When we have done that we will be given permission to walk around the tree and survey everyone else’s miseries in order to select a set we like better. According to Hasidic legend, in the end we freely choose our own personal set of sorrows once more. That’s a charming way of saying that when we see the suffering and sorrow of others, more often than not, we are quite happy to keep our own. 

Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.”

-Corrie Ten Boom