By Jim Nichols

Who knows what the true trigger is? A person might be reading a book and the sensation starts. Perhaps a long-lost photograph falls from an old magazine where it was stuck for decades. Maybe a movie or television show touches on something you thought you had buried in your personal history and therefore successfully forgotten.

Regardless of the stimulus, you recognize the results. Your throat seems to shrink in size, and your voice becomes so weak you can hardly speak above a whisper. Your vision becomes blurry as your eyes fill with tears. Your nose immediately feels swollen and this unexpected emotion overtakes your brain.

You might ask yourself, “What is wrong with me? What is happening?” If I had a reasonable explanation I might be able to snap out of this. It is embarrassing.

If tears had words, what would they say?

Apparently, tears come with the process of being human. One of the most powerful images in the Bible appears in Psalm 56:8 where the writer (in apparent grief) pens to God: “You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle.”

This image of God having a collection bottle of my (and your) tears is a strong one for me. It suggests that God is aware of our deepest concerns; our pain has meaning and is valued by God and consoled by God.

Think with me how we might complete the sentence, “I sense tears in my eyes when . . . 

I am frightened.”
I am lost (physically, emotionally).”
I am confused.”
I am lonely.”
I am uncertain.”
I am anxious (worried).”
I am angry.”
I am frustrated.”
I feel abandoned.”
I feel ashamed.”
I feel embarrassed.”

Our tears accompanying any of these emotions (and others you can name) are gathered figuratively in God’s bottle and he can see them and even measure them. 

It is reasonable to note that not all tears accompany what we might consider a negative emotion. Each of us could say, “I sense tears in my eyes when I am overwhelmed with joy.” A graduation ceremony, athletic victory lap, or holding the newest born in the family are certainly tear-worthy. Clearly, our emotions are strongly mixed; if tears had words, what would they say?

Writer Tito Madrazo tells of a custom from his childhood. When he was crying, his mother would say, “Could I have one of your tears for my pocket?” He reports that, despite the fact that she requested this often, he always said yes. She would then take her thumb and wipe it across his cheek and plunge the wet thumb into her pocket. Needless to say, this action consistently stopped his crying. He reports that it was both comforting and reassuring; this was a safe place, and crying is a safe activity.

If we take the Bible seriously, we note that tears and weeping appear frequently. Sarah weeps because of her childlessness. David weeps for his son. Mary Magdalene weeps at Jesus’ grave. There are several.

One of the most spectacular is Jesus himself weeping at the tomb of Lazarus. Even though Jesus has the power to raise Lazarus (and does so eventually), we are told of Jesus weeping first. To me this is a pivotal addition; if Jesus’ tears had not been mentioned, part of the impact of the incident would be lost.

Current news often links tears with a conflict with the law. We see tears from children separated from their parents, parental tears from those who have lost children to violence, refugee tears as they leave all they have known. These are often tears shed in the name of upholding some law, a questionable alibi and rationale.

We should be grateful for a future promise in Revelation 21:4. That promise is that God will dwell with us and that God will wipe away all tears. That is a promise to anticipate with joy.

Jim Nichols is a retired Abilene Christian University biology professor and current hospital chaplain