When Tears Appear

We’ve all had those awkward moments when—while listening to a song or watching a scene in a show—we’re suddenly overcome with unexpected emotion.  

The natural human impulse is to hold back the tears—or if we’re with others, to try and hide them. Act like something got in our eye as we quickly brush the wet away. 

Yet writer and theologian Frederick Buechner offers a better option: "Whenever you find tears in your eyes...it is well to pay the closest attention. They are not only telling you something about the secret of who you are...but God is speaking to you...the mystery of where you have come from and where...you should go next."  

When was the last time you unexpectedly found tears in your eyes? Go beyond the immediate scene or song and, as Buechner says, pay the closest attention. Consider what deeper issue, longing, or desire is being stirred.

Most of all, realize God is speaking to you. Perhaps about something in your past. Or what he has for you in the future. Either way, pursue the stories and songs and desires that are stirring your heart with him. And ask for his interpretation of the tears in your eyes.

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