Friday, October 21, 2011

My Bottle of Tears

I confess I’m a crier.  I cry at movies, at baseball games when the National Anthem is played, at graduations, weddings, funerals.  I cry when I hear a sad story, when someone else cries, when I share what God has done in my life, when I’m angry and when I laugh hard enough.

I hate the fact that I cry so easily.  It can be incredibly embarrassing for one thing.  And for another, it puts people in an awkward position.  But crying can be a good thing!

God created tears.  It is in His design that we cry.

I love the Psalms!  Because they give us beautiful pictures of what our intimate relationship with God is like.  And Psalm 56:8 (NLV) gives us one of those snapshots of God’s tenderness with us when we are experiencing incredible sorrow in our life.  


“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.”  
(Yes, I’m sure I have a very BIG bottle!)


God not only keeps track of all our sorrows, hurts and heartaches – He has recorded them in His book and every tear we’ve cried He has stored in our bottle, the one He keeps just for us. 

I wonder, does my bottle have my name on it?  Is it a special color?   Does God, my Father look at my bottle full of tears and say? “Aaah, that one is my daughter Kristi’s.   See her bottle of tears, they are so precious to me, I treasure each one. I am intimately acquainted with all her ways and I love her.  When she has cried tears that no one sees, I have seen, I know and cherish each one because I cherish her.”

What a beautiful gentle picture this is of our God! - a Father who tenderly collects our tears and holds them close to His heart. 

Have you ever stopped to consider that God is keeping track of all your sorrows?  That He knows each one of them.  He has seen you cry until you can’t cry any more.  He has witnessed your heartache over a difficult child, a wayward spouse, a broken friendship, or the death of a loved one.  He has seen your tears when you have cried all alone in the dark, not sure of where to turn or where to go.  He has recorded each one in His book and collected your tears in the bottle He has just for you.  How precious you are to Him!

So let the tears flow and know that your God cares for you intimately and with great passion!

4 comments:

  1. Such a beautiful post, Kristi, and so comforting.

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  2. I'm a crier too! In fact, while I was reading this post I got teary. I have often wondered the same thing- what does my bottle look like? It's hard to imagine that someone could care enough to keep track of my tears. Whenever I start to feel worthless again I will remember this.

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  3. Sigh! This is such a precious truth. Our Abba's heart is so tender toward us!

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  4. Wow. I stumbled on this entry while doing a search for the verse in Psalms that talks about God storing our tears. I think I have cried every day for the last 8 months--and I am not exaggerating when I say that. Life has been beyond difficult and I am so very tired of crying yet the tears come regardless of my weariness of them. Thank you for your perspective.

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