"Tears are words the heart can't express." ~Author Unknown

She led our small Bible study group in prayer, and as she did so, she began to cry.  The rest of us had our heads bowed and eyes closed, so we couldn't see her tears, but her voice gave it away.  I was touched by her emotion, and she and I talked later about tears and the vulnerability they bring when we openly display them publicly.  Offering such accessibility of our hearts to others can be scary.  Especially for those of us who tend to be more introverted.

To be vulnerable is "to be susceptible to physical or emotional attack or harm." And those of us who fear this vulnerability will go to great lengths to hide our tears from others.  But after considering the conversation I had with my young friend, and the ease with which she shares her emotions, I have to wonder why . . .

Laughing tears, photo © Rose-Lynn Fisher
Used with permission

There is some debate among "experts," but most evidence in nature indicates that humans are the only beings who express emotion through tears.  And I thought it was very interesting when I ran across this article about a photographer who captured microscopic photographs of human tears.  Rose-Lynn Fisher photographed over 100 tears, including tears of grief, joy, laughter and irritation.  The photographs are amazing, and show visual differences in our tears, depending on the impetus that produced them.  Not only that, but the essence of the chemical make-up varies depending on the emotion - "Emotional tears, for instance, have been found to contain protein-based hormones including the neurotransmitter leucine enkephalin, a natural painkiller that is released when the body is under stress."  Amazing!

As I read the above noted article and looked through the photos of Ms. Fisher's work, one of my favorite passages of Scripture came to mind, and with these considerations means even more to me now ...

Psalm 56:8 - "You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?"  In Albert Barnes commentary on this verse, he ties this to the custom in those days of "lachrymatories," or small bottles that were used during times of mourning.  When someone passed from this life, friends would gather and wipe the tears from the faces of the mourners, squeeze them into a bottle, and they were preserved as a memorial.  Not only does the Psalmist indicate that God collects our tears in a bottle, but He also records them in His book - further indication that the tears we shed are not only noticed, but they are remembered by God - they are important to Him.  What a comforting image!

We see this very thing in practice throughout Scripture.  For example, in 2 Kings 20:5, after Hezekiah has been told he will soon die, and he has prayed with "bitter tears" for more time, God tells Isaiah to “Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD,..."  

Our God sees our tears and collects them in His bottle.  He remembers.  He writes them in His book.  He hears our prayers and responds in love.  And I believe that God not only sees our tears of sadness and grief, but He also notes our tears of laughter and joy.  If He has made them structurally and chemically different, each one must be important to Him.

I know many who are hurting right now.  Some are mourning the loss of loved ones.  Others are mourning the loss of health.  Many are empathizing through tears for loved ones battling serious disease.  Others are shedding tears of joy and relief over answered prayers.  God sees them all, and that thought leads me to tears of thanksgiving.

Washington Irving wrote, "There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love."

I'm thankful for my young friend who is so easily moved to tears.  She teaches me to allow myself to be more vulnerable in that way.  So, the next time you are moved to tears, don't be tempted to try to hide them.  Let them flow, knowing that God notices each one, and is collecting them all as a remembrance.  Our tears not only move us, but they touch the Heart of the One who made them.