Sucker punches to the heart. They hit you unexpectedly. Ever had one of those? I bet you have. Think about it. I’ll give you an example. The new “Toy Story 3” movie is out in theaters, and one of my good friends went with her husband and family to see it. I’m interested in going to see it too, so I asked her what she thought of it. She said it was good. She also said she cried during the movie.
I reminded her it was a cartoon.
She said she knew that, and told me that in the movie, Andy grows up and goes to college, and that one day her son would, too. That fact unexpectedly made her cry.
Just to clarify, her son is ten. We’re not packing his suitcases just yet. My point is, she went into the movie totally not expecting it to hit her that way. But it did.
I had a sucker punch to the heart, too, recently. I took my oldest son to have his senior portraits made at school. As he stood there with his red cap and gown on, sort of smiling for the camera, it hit me how quickly time was passing. Wasn’t it just a few years ago he was graduating from kindergarten? (I cried then, too) As I watched him stand there holding a fake diploma for the photo, tears were unexpectedly filling my eyes! Now I plan to take Kleenex when I see “Toy Story 3”.
These things hit us women more often than they do men, but it happens to them, too. I’ve seen it. Oh, they try to act like they’ve just gotten something in their eye, but the truth is they get sucker punches to the heart, too.
Most of the time as women, we just go with it. We take the hit and like it or not, open the floodgates. We cry at movies, during commercials on TV, and during songs on the radio. Or what about songs at church? Good grief, I hardly ever make it through a worship set with completely dry eyes! And what about those videos they show in church? I’ve seen the video about the dad who pushes his handicapped son’s wheelchair in marathon races at least half a dozen times, and yet it still gets me every time. Want to see what I mean? Play the following video…

(I just watched it again, and again it made me cry.)
We can blame it on hormones if we want to, but the truth is there are just things our hearts are susceptible to.
I believe those tears come as a result of our being made in the image of God, and it’s often in those moments that our humanity becomes a little less wretched and a little more Christ-like.
It can be frustrating and embarrassing to cry over a commercial- or a cartoon movie. But the next time you do, just remember, it’s one of those things that sets us apart from all other creation. We have a heart that can grow, change, break, and be moved.
Tell me about your last sucker punch to the heart… but before you do- watch this commercial… this time, grab a tissue first….

Sniff, sniff…