So God was reclining on some clouds and staring out into the universe, just thinking. She was wondering about all sorts of things when she heard a small "ahem" on her right. She glanced over, and there was Michael.

“What’s up Michael?” God asked.

“Well, there’s this guy down on Earth and he’s crying all the time and it’s driving all the angels crazy,” Michael replied. Clearly he had been nominated to speak to God on behalf of the angels.

“Really? You can hear him crying? He must really be wailing.” God continued to stare into to space. “I wonder what he’s crying about?”

“I don’t know, but it’s really a problem. It started about five years ago, and he hasn’t stopped yet.” Michael was clearly frustrated. “The noise is just deafening to us and it’s really getting on everyone’s nerves.”

God looked over at Michael and said “Why not go down and see what’s up?”

Michael, looking a little put-out said “We’ve tried that. He can’t see us or he won’t acknowledge us. We can’t make any headway. I know you’re...ah...busy but we were hoping you go have a see.” Michael tried to keep the sarcasm out of his voice, but was only marginally successful.

“Okay, fine, I’ll go have a look. You say he’s been crying for five years? That’s a long time. I wonder why I haven’t heard from him?” God pulled herself up and started looking around Earth to find the crying man. She located him sitting in a diner, and he was indeed crying through his entire meal. She watched him for some time, and he continued to cry--even in his sleep. “Hmmm,” God thought to herself, “this guy is really suffering.”

One day, when the crying man was walking through the park, God turned herself into a fox and approached him.

“Hey guy,” she said “why all the tears?”

“Boohoo, oh now a fox is talking to me. Could things get any worse?” The crying man bawled.

“No, really, why are you crying all the time?” God as fox asked.

“Why not? Boohoo, everything is so awful that I can’t stop crying,” he wept.

“Gee guy, can it be that bad?” God looked around at the beautiful park and the lovely day. It was hard for her to imagine that things were that bad.

“Whaaa! YES! Can’t you see? All the suffering and struggle? All the people who are hurt and wounded and especially me. I have a broken heart and all I can do is cry.” He gestured around him as tears fell from his chin.

God took another look around and didn’t see any suffering. She saw some kids playing in the park and some folks having their lunch. She knew there was suffering in the world, after all she had created it, but couldn’t really see what the cryer was talking about.

“You look pretty okay to me,” she said. “You have nice clothes on and you have a job and a house. I understand that the whole broken heart thing can really stress a guy out but really, it doesn’t seem that bad.” God Fox said in a kindly voice.

“Oh you don’t know, boohoo, you are just a fox and can’t understand the suffering of men.” The crying man dismissed her with a huge blow into his tissue and he walked on, still crying.

God sat down in the park as a fox and thought about it for a while. She wondered that if being a fox really made that much difference as whether she could understand the suffering of a broken hearted man. After some contemplation she decided it didn’t. That really, she was God after all, and she could understand pretty much anything.

The next day God sat in the park as a fox waiting for the crying man to come along. She heard him well before she saw him as he continued to weep as he walked.

“Hey fella, it’s me again. So, you’re still crying?” God asked.

“Boohoohoo, of course I am, I can’t stop. Everything is just so sad. Boohoo” The crying man stopped to talk to her. “And I’m still talking to a fox.”

“Well, actually, I’m God. I’m just in this form so you can understand me.” God explained.

“Sob Sob, now you are a lying fox. This is terrible, when foxes won’t even tell you the truth.” He cried on and on.

“No really, I’m God. I came down here because all of your weeping and wailing is driving the angels crazy.” God had decided the direct approach was the best. It had worked in the past.

“Oh woe is me, even the angels don’t like me. Boohoo” The crying man started wandering off, crying even harder than he had been before.

God, still as a fox, followed him. She was getting pretty frustrated. “Hey, don’t walk away from me, I’m God and I’m talking to you. This is a pretty miraculous event.”

He stopped and turned around, his eyes blood shot and his nose running “I guess so, but I just can’t stop crying.”

“Really, what makes you cry, that’s what I want to know. I get that you are crying but why?” God sat down and waved her bushy tail.

“It’s my heart, boohoo, it’s just broken. And if you’re God, why can’t you tell what I’m crying about, boohoo.” It had slowed to a gentle weep.

“Well, I can see into your heart but not your mind. I can see that your heart has a little tiny scratch on it but it’s not broken. It’s just a little bitty mark up at the top.” God was peering into his chest as she spoke. It was true, all she saw was the smallest most insignificant mark.

“But it feels broken” he wept pitifully.

“Well it’s not.” She said. “It’s not broken at all. It works just fine, and that little mark is so small I can barely see it.”

He looked down at his own chest. “Really, it’s not broken?” He sniffled some. ”But it feels so awful. It hurts all the time.” He continued to weep.

“Okay, clearly you don’t have perspective.” And with a wave of her hand, God broke his heart into two pieces.

The crying man fell to his knees and clutched his chest. “Oh God.”

“Yes?” she said

“Oh My God.” The man gasped for air and his face showed such despair. “I can’t live.” He said.

“Yes you can.” Said God waving her bushy fox tail.

“No I can’t.” He continued to continued to hold his chest. He began rocking back and forth. “I can’t live like this.”

“Okay then.” God said and with another wave of her hand she healed his heart back and made sure the leave the little knick in it.

The crying man eased his hand away from his heart. “That was awful. I can’t believe how much that hurt.”

“Yes,” Said God, “so you see the difference now.”

“But you left the knick, why would you do that? Why not heal it completely?” The man, no longer crying, staggered to his feet.

“Because you need to remember.” God turned to leave.

The man started laughing. “Wow, I feel so much better.”

“Yes,” said God, “it’s really not that bad."