Well my baby girl got her first tooth last Friday. What an exciting time, but also, a rough couple days. We were certain she was sick with something.

Remi woke up Wednesday morning with a runny nose, which I did not worry too much about since we go outside so much. But then she was acting pretty fussy most of the morning, and that’s not normal for her. By the end of the day, she was definitely not her self. No appetite, super sleepy, and a crying, snotty mess.

We turned on her humidifier, put her to bed, and prayed she would feel better the next morning.

On Thursday, she woke up with a smile, but when we put her in her highchair for breakfast, it was obvious she still didn’t feel good. It was all snuggles and wiping her nose for the rest of the day. I even felt around her gums to see if I could feel a tooth and felt nothing.

Friday, we woke in hopes she would feel better, but after our morning walk where she cried the whole time, I called the pediatrician. They told me to bring her in that afternoon. So, she took her morning nap and ate her lunch pretty well, but still had the runny nose and a cough. I got on the floor to play with her because we had about an hour before we needed to leave for the doctor. That is when she took my hand and started to gum my finger. Only, when she started chewing, it hurt!

I looked at my finger and there was a little mark on it. Wait a minute! I stuck my finger in her mouth and felt the very tip a tooth on her bottom gum. All I could think was of course it pops through when I make an appointment with the doctor!

Oh my poor baby. She was going through it those last couple of days and I finally knew why. Thank goodness because I could not take much more of her heartbreaking cry.

It is a whole different kind of agony when your child cries. The wails that mean they are in pain strike a mother’s heart like a punch from Mike Tyson. All I wanted to do when Remi was in my arms crying was cry with her. Hold her warm little head against my chest and let her know I was there with her. There is only so much you can do for a teething baby.

When I was reading about Lazarus being raised from the dead in John chapter 11, it made me think of my poor teething baby.

As Jesus arrives to the home of Lazarus and talks with his two sisters, he is overcome with emotion. In John 11:35, all it says is “Jesus wept”. Some people refer to this as the shortest verse in the Bible, but a powerful one.

I never really understood that. I know that it is significant that Jesus was mourning the death of his friend, but he also cried in the garden before he was crucified. It was not the only time Jesus showed emotion, so why did this verse hold so much.

Then it clicked. Jesus was surrounded by other sorrowful people in this scene. Mary and Martha and many Jews with them were grief stricken. It was a funeral.

It’s not like Jesus didn’t know the power He held. It’s not like He wasn’t aware of the miracle He was about to perform.

He was crying WITH these people. It was not just a compassionate cry, it was love and sorrow meeting these friends who clung to Him at this moment. Jesus wept with them. His heart was just as broken, and He let the people around Him see that.

Jesus does the same with us today. While He sits at the right hand of the Father, he weeps with us. Every pain, every tear. He feels the same, and He provides comfort for us. Jesus knows the brokenness of this earth because He saw it with His own eyes. He knows how pain feels and He meets us in our pain.

When Jesus arrives at the tomb of Lazarus, it was not someone He had just met. Lazarus was not someone who had heard of the work Jesus was doing and became a fan. He was a dear friend of Jesus. They had a relationship. Martha and Mary also had a relationship with Jesus.

Just like when I want to cry when my baby girl is crying, knowing Jesus allows Him to feel with you. Having that relationship with Jesus invites Him into our hearts and our emotions. There is comfort in knowing that Christ sits up in Heaven, but He weeps with you down here on earth.