Our Tears Are Precious To God

I was thinking recently that one of the things I miss on our unexpected journey is Floyd giving me gifts.  He's always been a sweet gift giver.  Just recently out of the blue I received a love gift from someone.  It was a sweet, special gift of some lovely items.  It touched my heart so deeply!  It reminded me that I am loved.  

The Lord has been speaking to me too and giving me precious reminders of the fact that He loves me.  He sings over me.  He rejoices over me.  His love is for now and for all eternity.  He sees me.  He cares about what I am walking through.  He is right with me.

The thing ringing in my heart is to remind each one reading this that GOD LOVES YOU!  You are precious to Him.  You're not just one of the billions on planet earth.  You are unique - His special creation.  He loves you for you.  He loves you as a single, individual person.  He loves you for who you are.  He doesn't condemn you for what you're not.  We are all learning and growing - but He loves you right now, today for who you are.  You are His daughter, His son - His treasure.

May I encourage you to let the truth of this fill your heart, mind, and spirit?  Receive the powerful truth of it!  And then tell someone else how much they are loved!

"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God!  And this is what we are!"  1 John 3:1

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care.  And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."  Matthew 10:29-31

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?"  Matthew 6:26

"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him....The father said to his servants, 'Quick!  Bring the best robe and put it on him.  Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.  Bring the fattened calf and kill it.  Let's have a feast and celebrate.  For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' "  Luke 15:20b, 22-24

God loves us in every season, every situation in our lives.  He loves us in our successes, our victories, our triumphs - and He loves us in our pain, our need, our hard times.  And on this journey I have learned at a deeper level that He loves me in my tears.

In the beginning of our unexpected journey, I cried quite frequently.  There were so many shocks.  There was such sudden, unexpected loss.  As the tears flowed, rather than it being upsetting - it helped me get equilibrium. 

As time has passed, I find that the tears come less often.  But they still come - usually during a stressful time or times when I'm weak and weary.  I've learned to let them flow.  They often seem like a pressure release valve - letting the "steam" off so that I can handle the pressure.

I think I have a new awareness that God understands my tears.  Tears are okay - they are a gift.  And it's not a male/female thing.  It's not a sign of weakness.  Jesus wept over the death of His friend Lazarus and over the city of Jerusalem.  The Bible says He was "acquainted with grief."  He understood tears.  Peter wept when he denied Jesus three times.  Jeremiah the prophet wept.  David wept in the Psalms.  Job wept in his suffering.

I've always appreciated that Floyd wasn't embarrassed by his tears.  There have been times when he's cried with me when I've gone through a tender time.  His father was a man who cried.  

When they come, I let the tears flow.  I believe God weeps with us, and gently holds our hand to comfort us in our sorrow - whatever it may be.  He "hears" our tears, and is with us in the valley of our sorrows.  He collects our tears as something precious, and makes note of each one.  He has given us the ability to cry and have tears because He knows how much we'll need them during our trials and sufferings.  I hate to think of how bottled up things would be inside of us if we didn't have the release of tears.

"You keep track of all my sorrows.  You have collected all my tears in your bottle.  You have recorded each one in your book."  Psalm 56:8

"Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!"  Psalm 126:5

"When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in His spirit and greatly troubled."  John 11:33

"Jesus wept."  John 11:35

"And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times."  And he went out and wept bitterly."  Matthew 26:75

"As He came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, He began to weep."  Luke 19:41

"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."  Revelation 21:4

There was a time in my life when I was very insecure and self-conscious of my tears.  Now I've come to understand them as the gift that they are.  I just let them flow.  I'm thankful for the release they bring, and I'm grateful that God understands my tears.