God's Collection

Do you have any special collections? They could be priceless heirlooms, books, action figures, stamps, coins, scarves, you get the point! It makes me smile to think of all the possible collections people can have, and it leads me to reflect on what God collects. He chooses to collect something that we can't possibly hold or capture; something that we want to hide or wash away: our tears.

"You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book." Psalm 56:8

"The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry." Psalm 34:15

Think of the kind of tears we shed: from grief, joy, gratitude, worry, fear, anger. God cares about each emotion, and He can decipher them. This reminds me of something Pastor Adam Durso would say, "I'm so grateful I serve a God who reads tears." And God knows what to do with them.

Ecclesiastes 3:4 tells us there is "A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance." I want to note here how as there is a time to weep, there will come a time where laughter happens again. We have to grieve our losses. But we also need to heal and accept the now. God is there for the grieving and the healing. I know I can sometimes feel torn between needing to accept things right away or taking the time to walk through the process of healing. Take the time. Just because you're grieving does not mean you're being ungrateful; we can be grateful for God's goodness and blessings and still grieve the losses.

Our tears have meaning. Can you remember a time when you truly repented before the Lord? Those tears saved you from death: "For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death." 2 Corinthians 7:10.

God keeps our tears in a bottle. I picture these large, exquisite, intricately designed jars holding these treasures of His. The special kind of jars that museums display.

Our tears are a reminder that He cares, He's listening, He's comforting, He's healing, He's with us in the midst of these emotional moments; in the good and bad.