It’s important to pay attention to the moments we feel moved to tears. These moments are opportunities to learn something new about ourselves and our place in this world. They often hold clues to who we really are, and what we should do next.
Frederick Buechner, one of my favorite authors, says that listening to our lives (including our tears) is the best and most authentic way to experience ourselves and God. He talks about tears in his book, Beyond Words:
YOU NEVER KNOW what may cause them. The sight of the Atlantic Ocean can do it, or a piece of music, or a face you’ve never seen before. A pair of somebody’s old shoes can do it. Almost any movie made before the great sadness that came over the world after the Second World War, a horse cantering across a meadow, the high school basketball team running out onto the gym floor at the start of a game. You can never be sure.
But of this you can be sure. Whenever you find tears in your eyes, especially unexpected tears, it is well to pay the closest attention.
They are not only telling you something about the secret of who you are, but more often than not, God is speaking to you through them of the mystery of where you have come from and is summoning you to where, if your soul is to be saved, you should go to next.
If you’re interested in taking Buechner’s words to heart, please join me in this challenge:
The Challenge: The next time you notice yourself moved to tears, stop and pay attention for a few minutes before you go on with the rest of your day. Listen for clues to these questions: What might my tears be telling me about who I am? About what I should do next?