Tidy Tears

As I sat in church this morning, a friend and I had a close, quiet moment of "how's life?".  Pleasantries.  Maybe that's the word.  Hello.  How's the family, hello?  She relayed a simple fact about how things really are for her right now.  My reaction, completely out of emotion, was so heartfelt that it made me well up. We exchanged a knowing glance and returned to the matter at hand.  As the worship music continued, the tears gently slipped down my face.  Sitting amongst my thoughts and sorrow, I reached to discard the cheek tears and with an upward motion to my lower lids made an effort to tidy my sadness. 

No matter what the emotion, be it joy, happiness, contentment, or just work, there always seems to be a moment of tidying my tears.  For me, sorrow has brought an all over awareness that those moist moments can over take the soul without warning.

There was a time in my life when I didn't ever shed a tear.  When Sawyer was 3, our friends lost their 8 year old daughter in a tragic accident.  Striking my heart like nothing had ever done before, tears weren't an option, just a fact.  I will never forget my little boy saying, "Momma, I've never seen you cry before".   Sure made me stop and think.  And how things have changed.

Some time ago, I had an opportunity to talk with a girl.  Although I have no idea the depth of her hurt, it was apparent that she was a part of the walking wounded.  As I talked of the grace of God and how she doesn't have to carry her pain by herself, she was unable to blink back the tears.  I told her that God bottles our tears and knows every hair on our head.  Stopped, flat in her tracks.  She looked up at me with tear stained eyes and whispered "how do you know that?"  I told her that the Bible says so.  This girl left soon after that and I haven't seen her since.  My prayer for her is that the seed that was planted will bloom and grow. 

Pretty sure that God uses tears to cleanse us and I hang on to God's promise in Psalm 126:5, "Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting."   So I'll continue to thank God that my tears flow freely even if it does mess up my makeup.