CRYING IS CHILDLIKE

Emotions are very personal and sometimes irrational. I don't always cry when it's appropriate and sometimes I cry when it's not. If that happens in public - if I'm the only one crying, I get embarrassed and feel a little weird and childlike. Then I think about this scripture and tell myself that God considers all my tears - and all my sorrows - important. And if he is the only one, that's okay.

EMOTIONS ARE REACTORS

Recently I read something else that made me feel better in Beyond the Lie by Alice Smith. She said that our emotions only react; they can?t think, organize or plan. Emotions are involuntary responders to circumstances. She also noted that our emotional responses correspond to our personalities. They demonstrate how strongly we feel about an issue and trigger our will to act.

OUR AUSTERITY IS NOT STORED

Kenny Innes in his recent blog Tears are Cool says this: "When someone around us cries, it shatters the facade of "emotional maturity" and shouts out, 'I feel...'" He continues: "It's interesting that God does not store our austerity or ability to conceal our feelings in front of people ... Perhaps it's because God loves it when we feel - when we engage emotions that are deeply held, honestly pouring them out before Him."

BEING CHILDLIKE HAS VALUE

Our Father obviously sees being childlike as a good thing, even a "great" thing. In Matthew 18:4 it is linked with humility. Proverbs 29:23 says that pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor. Now that's a new idea to me - that my tears could actually bring me honor. But if God honors each one enough to put it in a bottle and record it, if each tear is that important to him, it follows that my attitude needs to line up with his.