Today I saw nature’s tear drops
They were piercing through the hard earth
Delicate, small, glistening bells
Symbolic of a new birth.
I’m reminded that when my life seems hard
I can still shine through my tears
To bring encouraging joy and hope
Removing long, cold winter fears.
These tears are not bitter
But very sweet
That are now gently coursing
Down my cheeks.
For they spring from a full heart
Of deepest love
Now overflowing to my loved one
In heaven above.
And I know, because God’s Word
Tells me so
They will be collected by God
My love to show.
God’s bottle is large and will preserve
Every single tear
I’ve shed so many since you left me
September, last year.
The very essence of God is love
He cares for you
Wiping away your tears in heaven
Till I come too.
At last, together, around God’s throne
In His home
All sorrow and crying and pain
Will be gone.
Psalm 56:8
Revelation 21:4
On the beach
With my small grandson
He put pebbles in a bottle
One by one
It reminded me how God
With such great care
Sees and conserves
My every tear.
Psalm 56:8
Did you weep Father God
When your only Son died?
I know Jesus cried
When his best friend died.
But today I was wondering whether
Tears and death for you
Also went together
As they did for me
When my loved one died.
And if my limited love
On this earth makes me cry
I think the God of Love’s eyes
Did not remain dry.
Yet God knew of course
Death was not the end
That on the third day
Christ would rise again.
His victory over death
Includes everyone and me
I can have certain hope
In this reality.
So the tears of sorrow
Become tears of joy
Knowing those who have died
Down through the years
I shall see again
In God’s home above
When reunited with Father
And all that I love.
I pull my tears inwards
Not wanting others to see my pain
I keep silent
But silence is exhausting me.
I long for seclusion
So I can let out my sobs.
I hug my misery close
Not wanting outsiders to intrude
Into the intimacy of my grief.
By keeping others at arms’ length
I protect my vulnerability.
I feel so very fragile
So lonely. So unloved.
This alien feeling
Is seated profoundly within.
Every now and then
Triggered by a small significance
It rises to the surface
Overflows in tears unshed
For my anguish and dejection
I hug tightly to myself.
Tears! Often tears
Here below on earth
All through life
At death; from birth.
No heavenly tears
In the home above
They’re all wiped away
By the God of love.
Beneath the blue
Between the green
A tranquil flowing
Mountain stream.
Small tears slip quietly
Over grey-cheek rocks
Gently warming
As they downward flow
Softening; smoothing
Healing; soothing.
Deep-throated throbbing
Noisy sobbing
Great tears splashing
An endless stream crashing
In anguish; grief
With no relief
Until set hard
In ice.
Are you in Baca?
The Valley of Weeping
Head hung down
Dragging feet
Sad
Lonely
Barren
Depressed.
Dig down by faith
To find a spring
A pool of blessing
To sustain
Refresh
Revive
Restore.
Keep walking
Trusting
With hope in God
You will pass through
This valley of tears
And find once more
Contentment
Strength
Protection
Provision
In meeting with the Lord.
And no good thing
Will He withhold
When you’re walking
Along His path.
Psalm 84
Hosea 2:14 & 15
Sometimes I think God’s lost the bottle
In which He has been storing my tears
All the many, many tears
I have shed throughout the years.
When travelling through the tunnel
In the darkness of the night
I may feel it’s never-ending
For there’s no foreseeable light.
Yet the time will one day come
When the long, long tunnel will end
Then I shall see God waiting there
His arms open in welcome. Bottle in hand.
I know that God has heard me weeping
I know that He is safely keeping
In His bottle every one of my tears
That have leaked from my eyes
Down through the years
Someday He will wipe each one away
When He takes me into His home to stay.
