Get It Together ... or Don't

BY Melody Lesmeister - Worship Arts Pastor

I was sitting watching the rain the other day. Listening as each drop hit the ground. The sound and smell was so refreshing; it almost immediately makes me close my eyes and breathe a little deeper. The rain washes my little brick paths, brightens up my water craving grass and makes my trees look glossy and refreshed.

The rain makes me want to light a candle, turn on my tea kettle and sit down for a bit. It makes me pause, even briefly to be still. 

In so many ways I feel I can relate to that downpour of rain that seems to put a pause on life. I’ve heard rain called “Heavens Tears”. Well, to be honest I can probably compete with the crazy storms and rains if we compare them to tears. 

When David says “My pillow is drenched from my own tears”…. on the inside, I’m like, OH David, I get it brother. I so get it.

You know those rains where it’s pouring so hard, you can’t see anything and the sheer volume makes talking pointless? Yeah, I’ve had cries like that. The kind of pain, hurt, or surrender where you cry so hard you think you might have broke something?

Crying gets a bad wrap doesn’t it? Our society associates crying with weakness. Just look at the way we try to stop ourselves from expressing emotions. We need to “compose ourselves and get it together”. We call ourselves and others cry babies for letting the pain, joy or sorrow show on the outside through tears. 

We come up with catchphrases to justify our locked up hearts like, “real men don’t cry” or we equate crying with just plain weakness or immaturity. My dear friends with real beating hearts and tender souls, this is not the case. Real strength doesn’t lie in our ability to “muscle through”, but in our willingness to let the Lord "walk us through”. 

Our precious Jesus was full of emotion. Jesus was constantly moved by compassion. He openly wept at the heartbreak of Lazarus’ death. He wept over Jerusalem as His heart ached for their lost hearts. He wept bitterly and intensely as He spoke with the Father ahead of facing the cross. 

I’ve had seasons in my life where I wondered how my body produced so much liquid pouring out of my eyes… It seemed like my tear pump was working overtime and it was becoming an inconvenience to me honestly. I felt weak. I felt broken. I felt like I was set back and not fit for God’s plan because I couldn’t “get it together”. 

Here’s what I’ve learned. Tears locked in will be pain unleashed at some point in our lives. Pain not healed becomes pain expressed, often to the people we love. Tears when cried WITH the Lord become healing rains for our broken hearts and bleeding souls. There really isn’t a shortcut. I’m sorry to say, we must cry those tears. 

My Aunty used to always say, “never apologize for crying, the tears keep you tender.” 

When we take our process to the Lord and allow ourselves to face the unpleasant emotions, and let those tears flow we get to take part in God’s promise from Psalm 30 that says… weeping may remain for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning! 

The Word tells us that the Lord is near the brokenhearted. There is something so special and healing about bringing our broken hearts before the Lord. There is a nearness we can experience in those tearful offerings we bring Him that we can’t when all seems to be going well. Let me guarantee you, your tears are not in vain and the Lord holds them dearly. Psalm 56:8 says, “… you have collected all my tears in a bottle, you have recorded each one in your book.” I can’t even imagine the collection of tears the Lord has just from me! 

Here’s the amazing thing about God. NOTHING is wasted. Not even our tears. When we go back to the analogy of the rain, I’m reminded of another Aunty of mine. This Aunty is an incredible gardener with a beautiful yard she tends to. I was so delighted my last visit to see all her hard work and the beauty of the space she tends so well. Something about growth and plants is the need for water. So, my genius Aunty has a couple large rain barrels to collect water naturally! She then uses this water to nourish her flowers and plants for growth. 

Isn’t that just how God uses our painful circumstances to pour out and minister life to those around us? When we go to God in our tears, He heals us and those sowed tears become a testimony for others who may face the same things. What a redemptive God! 

Psalm 126:4-6 “Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.” 

What if we can’t get to the shouts of joy without the planting in tears? It really does shed light on the importance of our tears doesn’t it? Not only does the Lord cherish them and collect them, He uses them for your future joy, growth and even to bless others! Incredible!

So dear friends, never tell yourself to “keep it together” if the Lord could be inviting you to a precious encounter with Him. One where He is so very near, where He reminds you He understands and treasures you even in the pain. A meeting where He helps you sow your tears into ground that might be hard and dry, but will soon produce beauty and joy. 

Rest assured too, we won’t always have these precious and painful times to walk through with the Lord. One day He’ll wipe away every tear from our eyes, there won’t be sorrow or mourning again. Until then, let’s not miss any opportunity to allow the Lord to be near our broken hearts and allow our Father to walk us all the way through to the new day! 

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Cyndy - August 9th, 2022 at 3:20pm

Thank you dear Melody for sharing this. It's such a time when we need to be real and walk each other through, tears and all.

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