Dec
30
2015
One Tear
Posted in Heaven 2 Comments
I have a confession.
I cried at the new Star Wars movie.
No one saw me.
I was sitting next to my husband and my five children were sitting behind us.
It was not an uncontrollable cry.
It was the kind of cry that happens one tear at a time.
One tear that stubbornly falls down your cheek.
No amount of wishing it away will make it disappear.
The stubborn tear came to my eyes when Han Solo came on the screen.
As soon as they saw him the audience cheered.
I did not quite understand why his appearance got to me.
However, it happened again when Princess Leia entered the story.
Princess Leia is now a General of the Resistance.
Seeing the both of them brought back so many memories as I sat there in the theater.
The original Star Wars movie opened in theaters on May 25, 1977.
My husband and I were seniors in high school and went to see the movie on a date.
I wondered if my tear was for the story itself; probably not.
Or if my tear was for the return of the characters that were so familiar to me; possibly.
Or perhaps my tear fell because I realized the passing of time.
That was more like it.
I looked over at my husband.
He was eighteen when we saw the movie and I would be eighteen in two months.
Now we were sitting in the theater thirty-eight years later.
We were sitting side by side with five adult children sitting behind us.
The tear caught me by surprise.
It happened over and over.
I was surprised that no one caught me wiping it away.
I could not have explained it anyway.
A tear fell when Clarence got his wings.
A tear fell when Jodie Baxter’s yearling needed to be put out of its misery.
A tear fell when it began to snow in the movie White Christmas.
A tear fell when Carl Fredricksen lost his beloved Ellie in the movie, Up.
A tear falls when I am at a play.
A tear falls when I hear an orchestra playing song after song with such feeling.
A tear falls when a marching band plays patriotic music.
A tear falls when I hear God’s Word preached right to my heart in a sermon.
Many tears will fall.
Often, they catch me off guard.
We should pay attention to what makes us cry.
Our emotions set us apart and validate the image of God in us.
We long for the world for which we were created.
A world where we can walk with God.
A world where the lion lays down with the lamb.
A world where a little child can put his hand in a cobra’s hole.
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord – and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as waters covers the sea. In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for all peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious. (Isaiah 11:1-10)
Perhaps my tear was really for the way things were meant to be.
We are not meant for this fallen place.
There is a longing in our soul that nothing on earth can fill.
There is an emptiness that cannot be fulfilled this side of heaven.
However, one day, everything will be made right.
One day, our motives will be pure.
One day, our battles will be ended.
One day, sin and death will be destroyed forever.
And we will rejoice.
On that day, one tear may fall from our eyes.
A tear that embodies the sorrow of the world, the fallen-ness, and the brokenness.
One day, that very tear will be wiped away by the One that took our sin upon Himself.
One day, it will not be a General that will lead us.
It will not be a political party that will lead us.
Nothing this world has to offer can save us.
Only One is able to wipe away our tears.
Only One will make all things new.
Only One is the perfect Bridegroom who will come for His Bride.
Only One is worthy.
Only One is Lord.
And the tear will fall.
And He will wipe it away.
Forever.
Amen.
The thing is, the older I get, the more I realize how other people view tears — some are scornful, some are indifferent, some are sympathetic. And I honestly don’t know what I hate worse — those who are scornful or those who are frantically trying to “fix” whatever is wrong with me because, “you’re CRYING!!! What’s wrong?” For the most part, I welcome the indifferent approach, whether that is how they truly feel or whether they’re just respectful of my right to private feelings that sometimes overwhelm . . .
And so, dear friend, another good post is that strikes a responsive chord. You did good! Love you!
Mary Ann,
I agree with you. My tears are a part of me. I am beyond being embarrassed by them. It is important to pay attention to what makes us cry. The tears are there for a reason. We learn so much about ourselves but mostly about HIM when we recognize our tears, embrace them, and then hand them over to the One who will wipe them away. You are loved, friend!
Gina