Tears

For anyone walking through the grief journey, tears are one of the many emotions we frequently exhibit. As I found out recently, I’m still capable of shedding buckets of tears due to the death of my daughter, Melanie. I’m not entirely sure why this year hit me harder than previous years, but I didn’t fight it.  

It’s healthier for us to accept our sadness by allowing the tears to flow instead of stuffing it down inside of us. If we continue to take the “stiff upper lip” approach, it will eventually affect our bodies physically, and our health will suffer. 

The more I began to think about all the tears I shed, the Holy Spirit reminded me of something I’d read recently. In Catherine Marshall’s book, The Helper, she shares a story about a man who was raised in an environment where he was taught never to show emotion. During his upbringing, he was taught to believe that tears were a sign of weakness. How misrepresentative that is of what God thinks of our tears. Catherine went on to say: 

“The Holy Spirit teaches us that tears are the pearls in God’s kingdom.”

Yes! This is such a fantastic truth! There are times when tears actually precede a mighty move of the Lord our lives. Perhaps you’ve heard a particular song at church when out of nowhere your eyes fill with tears. That is the Holy Spirit rising up within you. He is our Comforter! 

Crying is very typical in life when you’re in the valley. And more importantly, when you’re in the valley, God sees you! The God of all comfort keeps watch over your weeping. He gathers up all your tears and puts them in his bottle (Psalm 56:8).

No matter how much of your grief and sadness goes unnoticed by others, not one moment has escaped the attention of God, who neither sleeps nor slumbers (Psalm 121:4). 

My friends, tears are not a sign of weakness but strength. If you feel emotional and your heart is flooding with sadness right now, it’s okay. Let it flow, and allow your heart to be washed clean of the heaviness and sadness within you. Even Jesus wept when his dear friend Lazarus died. He cried even though he knew what the final outcome would be. 

One day, when we are reunited with Jesus and our loved ones, He will turn our valley into a day of everlasting joy.