Monday, April 21, 2014

What Makes You Cry?



We are all instructed to follow the path that makes us happy. Do the things that make us happy. 

Don't worry, be happy.

(I just dated myself, didn't I?!)

There is nothing wrong with doing things or pursuing things that make you happy.

But, what you really should analyze are the things that make you cry.

The things that make you cry show your core. They show what is really important to you. They show you what makes you tick.

So, what makes you cry?

-I cry reading poetry and drinking coffee at Panera. (I know. I am the picture of pathetic.)

-I cry reading the Road Less Travelled. Anytime. It makes me tear up every.time. Maybe because it has been the story of my life...

-I cry when I write about motherhood. The responsibility and trust of it all overwhelms me. I feel so small, yet so loved.

-I cry as I cross the finish line in my longer races.

-I cry as I watch others crossing the finish line. I cry because I am thinking of the back stories that are involved for each and every person.

-I cry when I watch the Olympics. I think the athlete in me gets it-on a very small scale. The sacrifice. The hard work. The persistence. The choices. The discipline. 

-I cry when I tell stories. Stories about real people. Real moms and dads. Real kids. Real struggles and triumphs. I cry when I tell not real stories too. I cry when the message of the story touches my heart and changes my thinking.

-I cry when I can't see the whole story. When I know God is present and working, when I know He is faithful, but I can't see the how or why yet.

-I cry when I watch old movies. Only old movies. And the same old movies that I used to give my mom a hard time about watching and crying.

-I cry when I get an eyebrow wax. Does that count? I also almost fall asleep in the 2 minutes it takes for them to prep me and put that nice first layer of warm wax on. And then I cry when they rip the wax off.

-I cry over my sin and failures. Over my weaknesses. 

-I cry when my children are hurt. Sometimes when they are hurt physically, but more when their feelings are hurt. It is my mama bear instinct. 

I find this crying thing interesting, because I never used to be a crier. Maybe it is hormones. Maybe God has softened my heart and allowed me to become more empathetic. Because I cry now because of understanding. That is what makes me cry. Not so much my own pain, but what my pain has taught me about other people's pain. I cry because on some scale I get it.

You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your book?

(Psalm 56:8)

That's an amazing thought. God keeps track of our tears. Whether they are over a loss or a triumph, a story or movie, our pain or someone else's. Our tears are precious and known to God.

Have you ever considered what makes you cry?