Baz Gascoyne dispels the lie



Continued from page 2

"Let your tears come. Let them water your soul." (Eileen Mayhew).

Tearful Clarkson Says: We Want Our Hamster Back

This was the headline in the Daily Express on Friday 22nd September 2006. Jeremy Clarkson in tears? Yes, if the Daily Express reporting was accurate. Can this be the same Jeremy Clarkson who only two years earlier in his article in the Sun newspaper is slamming men for crying? Now you need to know when I read the above I was really excited as it appeared that Clarkson did not allow his mind and his previous thoughts to stop him from expressing what was going on his heart.

Phil Donahue once said "I think people who never cry are like people who never laugh: there is something wrong with them."

This is so true. Most men don't know how to give themselves permission to release the pain.

The article went on to say that Clarkson fought back tears as he visited his friend Richard Hammond in hospital who was fighting for his life after crashing 280mph in a jet-powered car filming for the TV show Top Gear. He was quoted as saying, "we want our Hamster back."

Whenever someone you are close to is on the brink of death, theories go out the window and reality kicks in. Just like it seemed to for Jeremy Clarkson.

Real Men Weep

In the Bible we read that 'Jesus wept' when he heard about his close friend Lazarus' death. The shortest verse in the Bible with the biggest impact. The dictionary says to weep means to: cry, sob, moan, lament, wail, bawl, blubber, snivel, and whimper. To express intense, usually painful emotions by shedding tears.

Try to imagine Jesus, the Son of God, crying so much that it was displayed as above. Well, he was just like you and I - human with feelings.

We need to realise that crying can and does bring healing from things that have caused us so much pain. I often pray for men that God would replace tears of sadness with tears of joy. As men we mostly find it difficult to express openly the pain we feel and allow ourselves to be vulnerable.

Crying Can Make You A Better Man

Since God began to soften my heart and make it more pliable I have cried so much and still do, whether it be watching the Kleenex advert, reading Gordon Ramsay's autobiography, crying over a friend's death or just seeing someone being honoured. I am so excited that I have been able to express what I'm feeling through the action of tears.

"What soap is for the body, tears are for the soul" Jewish Proverb

In the book of Ecclesiastes Chapter 3, verse 4 in the Bible we are told:

'There is a time to cry and a time to laugh. There is a time to be sad and a time to dance.'

Why not begin to allow yourself the time for tears and then laughter as you begin to allow yourself to break the lie over you that "big boys don't cry"! CR

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.