For the past several days, I have been in the presence of tears. They have not been my tears but tears of others. They have been tears of pain, tears of frustration, tears of relief, tears of laughter, tears of grief. Tears come easily to me, always have. I come from a blessed family of "criers". We cry at the drop of a hat….at weddings, at funerals, at sporting events, at parades(don’t ask!) Every year on the first day of school when I see the children standing in line for the bus, I cry……the sheer potential of their lives overwhelms me.

Some might see this as a weakness. I don’t. Once after a worship service in which tears came to me during prayer, someone came up and said to me:"Don’t you worry about your tears. When we cry, we know the Holy Spirit is present."  I liked that. And I believe it to be true. In our tears we are bathed with salt water that reminds us of God’s brooding over the waters of Creation bringing forth Life.

Washington Irving said: "There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness but power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messages of overwhelming grief…..and unspeakable love."

There is certainly much in the world today that can bring us to tears. Somedays the tears of parents and loved ones who have lost children to war would threaten to drown us. Other days the tears of unspeakable love that guides caregivers in hospitals and nursing homes, that guide the new parent holding their child, could float an ocean liner. With each tear a story unfolds, a life is changed, a power is unleashed.

May God bless all the tears that flow this day………………