When The Tears Come

I call it “a grief storm.” You know. There you are standing in the grocery store meat department, looking at the hamburger because you ALWAYS have to buy a pound of hamburger. Then it hits you. You never did like hamburger. You always bought it for HIM. And now he’s gone. That empty chair in the kitchen will always be empty. You don’t ever have to eat hamburger again if you don't want to. You'd eat a truckload of it if that would bring him back!

And there you are, tears streaming down your face as you scramble through your purse looking for a Kleenex in front of the stupid hamburger packages. Of course you don’t have a tissue and now your nose has started to run, too, and then there’s a nudge on your elbow. A meat department employee rips a sheet off the roll of paper towels and hands it to you. “I’m sorry we just can’t keep these prices down, ma’am.”

We live in a world that doesn’t understand tears. Sometimes we don’t understand them ourselves. They just happen, or so it seems. Kelly, who you might know a little bit on the Facebook group “Gathering Place,” shared some things with me about tears that I’d like to share with you.

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”God gave us the gift of tears, and if it didn't serve any purpose He would not have given it to us.

There are three types of tears. Basal tears are the ones in our eyes that keep them moist and protected on a daily basis. Irritant tears are the ones that come when it's windy, or when something irritates your eyes, like onions!

Then there are emotional tears, the third type. It is a scientific fact that humans are the only species that shed emotional tears. Emotional tears contain much more, maybe 25% more, than basal or irritant tears of a certain important ingredient: proteins.

The proteins found in emotional tears are hormones that build up to very high levels when the body withstands emotional stress. It we didn't cry or sweat, those hormones would build up to levels that would weaken our immune system and other biological processes.

See? Tears are God’s gift, and we should use that gift as often as necessary. I thank the Lord every day for providing me with so many non-material gifts.

So cry when your heart is aching, because short of allowing your husband to come down and comfort you, tears are God's way of easing you through this life.”

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I’m glad Kelly shared this with me. Tears are nothing to be ashamed of; in fact, they’re a healthy release!

She got her information off this college website of student papers:
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1825

Kelly says, “You can see by reading the whole article that the writer believes it is an "evolutionary" thing that we have this ability to shed emotional tears, and there is no mention of God whatsoever. But sometimes is it good to know there is scientific fact behind something we believe is from God, because it makes Him even more all-knowing and AWESOME.”

(Flickr photo credit: by Mac(3) )