Look Up, Girl!Sample

The Tears That Heal

Crying seems to be a big part of the human experience. Tears of joy, tears of sorrow, tears of surprise. When we are little, we’re told not to cry. When we grow into adults, we tell ourselves to hold it all in. I, for one, am not too successful at it when my heart is breaking or I’ve been wronged in a terrible way. But we forget that even God cried. His Heart broke when life became too unbearable, and He still has a soft spot that loves deeply, aches profoundly, and longs for us to need Him.

Suffering seems to be a cruel and unnecessary thing when we’re in the center of it. The pain is a cloud that rains down a seemingly endless misery that can’t possibly do us or anyone else any good. But the darkness and the thunder is a squall that soon passes and even presents opportunity—if we will only see it that way.

Like so many of God’s mysterious gifts wrapped in black paper, in our obedient acceptance of them we are reminded of the meaning of Grace. The hurt that appears to hinder us is also the help we need to heal. Tears purged pain that would otherwise sink deep and settle into bitter bones of resentment. They are the diamonds in God’s Sentimental Jar, a collection saved, each one more precious than the last.

Don’t be discouraged when tears threaten, for in those showers that dampen our mood and memory of happier times, come the waters that cleanse our perspective; waters that encourage our heart to press on.

Question

Can you recall a time when your tears came with a lesson that you would have missed if they had never fallen?

Prayer

Jesus, I get so wrapped up in my own pain that I forget that there is a reason for it. That You can and will make something beautiful out of the ashes, and that my tears are the elixir meant for someone else’s wound.

References

“Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble.” —Psalm 90:15

“But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction.” —Job 36:15

“To deny the cry in my soul is to deny the beating of my heart.” —Nikki Rosen

“Every tear I have shed purifies my soul.” —Lailah Gifty Akita