There is a part of my heart that longs to write…I can only compare it to a craving for my beloved sweets.  There are times where I feel I can’t go on with my day until my fingers hit the keys.  But then days are busy and time runs away from me like the elusive bandit it is.  And try as I may to “catch it,” there just never seems to be enough hours, or minutes.  So the craving persists.  But tonight, I can finally write.

As I sit in front of my computer screen (and virtually in front of you dear friend), I can’t help but replay the last couple of weeks.  The truth is, I come to you with a loss-heavy heart.  People I have known and loved left this earth too quickly…all in a matter of a few days.  And being a bit on the outside looking in, it’s hard to imagine the pain of those closest…spouses, children, parents, siblings.  I rejoice with those who are finally home.  And mourn with the ones left behind.

There were days I tried to pray.  And the only word I could mutter was, “Jesus.”  I scolded myself for not being able to find the eloquence to express the emotions in my tears.  As if spoken words meant more to God.  So I would sit with my lap-full of Kleenex and try again.  And still, it was only “Jesus.”

And you know what, the name of Jesus is enough.  For his name holds beginnings, ends and everything in between.  It’s our cry for help.  It’s comfort for our hurting hearts.  It’s what we say when we don’t know what to do.  And in The Message, Psalm 113 says, “Just to speak his name is praise.”

Yes, his name is enough.  And sometimes, it’s all that needs to be said.

Because I know he gets me.  He knows my heart and sees what I cannot even begin to put into words.  In fact, he gets all of us doesn’t he?  Being a “man acquainted with sorrow,” we are not a mystery to him.  He was no stranger to pain or grief.  Tempted for 40 days and 40 nights, I believe he also knew what it meant to struggle.  He was fully God, but also fully human.  So there is an undeniable peace in knowing whatever we experience this side of Heaven (aside from sin), he’s been there too.

He gets it.

So when his name falls from our lips, he’s already present.  He stands with arms outstretched, welcoming us home to his heart.  He wipes our tears and holds our hands as we navigate our life-roads.  Perhaps we walk without ones we love.  Perhaps we walk on our own.  But there is a line in a Matt Redman song that says, “Never once did we ever walk alone.”

So when you don’t know how to pray, or even what words to say…Just say Jesus.  It’s enough.  He is enough.