Matthew 27:55, 56  Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons. (NIV)

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Some scenes are so horrible, you can’t look at them, and you can’t look away. 

These women had seen the very best of Jesus. Now they saw the very worst people could do to him. 

Kneeling there on that awful day of all days was the mother of Zebedee’s sons. James and John, the Sons of Thunder, were her boys. She loved her sons. She was so proud of them, and at one point recently she had come to Jesus and said, “Promise that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right and the other on your left, in your kingdom,” (Matthew 20:21). 

Looking up at Jesus on the cross and the two men crucified alongside him, on his right and on his left, she no doubt remembered her request. 

Some prayers are better left unanswered. 

We often don’t realize how self-serving we are until something shocks us back into reality. 

This was one of those moments that no doubt made her rethink everything. 

Fortunately, she was only hours away from rethinking everything in a whole new way. 

She was only days away from hearing Jesus commission her boys, and herself, to be his witnesses and to promise that he would be with them to the very end of the age. 

She was only days away from thinking about death in a whole new way. Something about its terror was gone away. Seeing a dead man live again will do that to you. 

Unfortunately, it would not be long before one of those two boys, James, would be put to death by King Herod. (See Acts 12.) Another death drove her to her knees. 

Her other son, John, would live a good long time. 

As she lived out the rest of her years, she knew a couple of things we need to remember. Jesus was alive. James was with Jesus. She and John would be with Jesus in due course. Having cried all their tears on this side of heaven, their reunion would be immersed in laughter, love, and gratitude for an unanswered prayer that was actually answered better than it was presented.

It is likewise beneficial for us to see the worst days of our lives through the lens of heaven. 

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I will give thanks for what God says No to, and for his greater Yes.  

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Our Father, thank you for answering my prayers better than I pray them. Amen.