Tear hoarder (from She Speaks)

I wanted to re-post this devotional post because it kind of reminded me of, me! I used to do everything I could to keep from crying. I felt like it made me look so weak, and that really I'm an ugly crier. But this devotional is just so right on...so read on, and feel free to cry... sad tears, laughter through tears, joyful tears...it's all good!

a former hoarder

aninspirational entry on tears

I used to be a hoarder. For years I stored tears far from the eyes of anyone else. I simply refused to cry. Stock piling my tears started with one little tooth.
“Just tilt your head back, close your eyes and I’ll yank it out on the count of three…ready? 1…2…3!”
I was only six. Too little for that sharp surge of pain that rushed through my mouth. So of course it was only natural I burst into tears.
“You big cry baby!” That’s my dad for you. The big heroic tooth extractor laughed.
All I could do was whimper amid muffled sobs, “But it hurts!” I nursed the gaping hole in my gums with a soggy paper towel. My historic moment of bravery turned into one pathetic flop. I had proved myself an official wimp.
That sealed the deal. Crying became a strictly private and pretty much non-existent affair… even into my adult years. Any time I felt tears, like a dam about to burst, I forced them to stay where I thought they belonged: hidden deep within my soul for no one else to see.
When I stumbled across these two treasured lines my perspective on crying changed:

You [LORD] have collected all my tears in your bottle
You have recorded each one in your book. {Psalm 56:8}

I couldn’t believe it. Someone else wanted to store my tears! In a far better place than the corners of my heart. Isn’t it cool to think each droplet we’ve shed over our twenty-some years of experiences {including losing our first tooth} has been collected in a precious bottle? Held near and dear to our Father’s heart?
You see, God doesn’t laugh when we cry. He doesn’t tell us to toughen up or turn the page on our tears like they don’t exist. Instead, He picks us up on His lap and wraps us in His loving arms as we pour out our hearts to Him. Our Lord loves for us to let Him in on our deepest felt emotions.
Whatever your tears are about right now–unanswered prayers… unmet promises… uncertainties of life–they are seen and saved by the One who comforts and cares for our every need. If you’re a tear hoarder, may I encourage you? Open the floodgate of your heart and release your tears, sit quietly with the Lord and… listen. Journal. Or take a walk and give your tears to Him. His bottle is open and ready to catch every single one.
Something Else…
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” {2 Corinthians 1:3-4}
From http://www.sheseeks.org/2012/a-former-hoarder/