The Deepest Comfort

Pain and sorrow are never wasted when given into God's hands, and their transformation is far beyond our imaginings. But in this life, we will experience a poignancy, a regret that harm was done when our actions could have been different. This poignancy is a valid, healthy part of our journey of release.
The deepest comfort in our mourning is to know that God not only has compassion but actually feels our suffering with us. Jesus tells us that not even a tiny sparrow will fall to the ground "apart from your Father" (Matthew 10:29). To me this means that God's heart so enfolds and unites with the sparrow (and with us) that the suffering of the tiny creature is shared, felt by that supreme heart. The creature's suffering resounds through God's whole being.

- Flora Slosson Wuellner in "Forgiveness, the Passionate Journey"