A Time to Cry

Growing up, I was certain every mother had this one particular superpower. They knew their child’s cry. Seriously, it was uncanny.

For a number of years after finishing high school, I spent every Friday morning hanging out (alongside a few other adults) with between twenty and thirty kids under the age of five while their mums attended a Bible study. It was fun. It was crazy. And – with kids that young – there were the inevitable meltdowns.

Some missed their mums, some didn’t want to share, some fell over, some didn’t like the colour of the cup they were given, or the colour of the trees. Whatever the reason, they cried. And without fail, the right mum would peek through the window to check on them.

It utterly amazed me. All the cries sounded the same to me and yet, even from three rooms away, with that many kids in the building, a mother could know without a doubt that that was their child crying.

I still don’t know how it works, but it does. Now I’m one of the mums at Bible study, and yep, I can tell when it’s my child crying. I can’t explain the difference, but like an individual’s voice, their cry is unique.

Just like yours is to God.

We try to hide our crying better as adults. We think it’s unacceptable somehow, or perhaps we just don’t want people to ask questions we don’t want to answer. But the tears are still there. The tantrums. The hurts. The times of pain, grief and loneliness. And whether or not anyone else sees them, God does. And, just like those mothers, God comes running. 

Every time.

God sees your tears.

He sees your heart breaking, even when you’re too stubborn to let anyone else, or when you wish someone would notice but they just don’t. God does.

He sees your heart, he knows your pain and he cares. He’s not judging you or comparing you to anyone else or wondering why you couldn’t be stronger, he’s just holding you. Being there.

No matter where you are today, whether your heart is rejoicing or breaking or torn in so many pieces you don’t think you could ever breathe again, you are not alone. God sees your tears, and he’s come running to pick you up and remind you that everything is going to be okay.

Because he’s here, and he cares.

You are not alone.