Where Do Broken Hearts Go?

Just a few days into last August, a package showed up on my doorstep, sent by a dear sister-in-Christ who knew my heart was hurting.  She too had wept a few tears.  Inside, I found a “bottle of tears” and a small scroll of paper neatly rolled and tucked inside.  I read the verse and I wept:  “You keep track of all my sorrows.  You have collected all my tears in your bottle.  You have recorded each in your book.” (Psalm 56:8)  I asked Him, “Lord, do you really see my tears?”  For days to come, I wondered about my bottle of tears and if HE understood?

Coincidentally, during my back-to-school teacher clothes shopping, I found this really awesome, chunky ring with a frosty blue stone.  A Free People ring on sale!  Yes, I will take it…thank you very much!  Later, upon staring at the ring and contemplating the verse, it occurred to me the stone was shaped like a tear.  From that point forward, I wore this ring as a reminder of this Scripture, of my bottle of tears, and of my Savior’s promise that HE sees my pain (Psalms 34:15)

Fast forward to this past week…while carrying boxes of yoga props into the studio, I looked down to find the stone was missing from my ring.  YES…the stone had rolled away!  I felt a rush of tears, however, not the same tears of pain as before, but rather tears of joy!  “…weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”  (Psalm 30:5)

I am reminded HE pursues us with His message in a real and tangible way.  He is working all around us and at all times.  He is the giver of good gifts, even those that produce tears and those that collect tears for days or even years to come.  {Be} encouraged, my friend…if your bottle is overflowing today, YOU have a Savior who understands (Jesus Himself wept in John 11:33, 35).  He was fully human, fully man, and fully God.  He truly knows where broken hearts go as He sits on the right hand of the Father today, interceding for us (Romans 8:34).  May we look, listen, and learn from the little things in life that are metaphors for bigger things.

“For when THE stone was rolled away, and the tomb was empty, we were given a promise of a day in heaven where, ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’ ”  (Revelation 21:4)

So for today, praise the Lord for stones that fall out, for bottles of tears, and for gentle reminders that “the eyes of the Lord are upon us, and His ears are attentive to our (their) cry.” (Psalm 34:15)

{Be} Still and Know.  HE knows your name.  HE knows your pain.