Great Article by Liz Curtis Higgs.......Enjoy!

A Ministry of Tears

By Liz Curtis Higgs

I cry easily and often. Happy tears, sad tears, over-the-top tears, Hallmark commercial tears—you name it, I’ve leaked over it.

Hankies up if you’re with me on this.

Out of sheer joy, I cry at church more than anywhere else. When I hear a wondrous truth spoken or a glorious song lifted in praise, when I see a new believer step forward or an old saint read the Scriptures, I’m so overwhelmed with gratitude that tears flow down my cheeks.

Not little drips—buckets. Sheets of water. A monsoon.

Even after twenty years of marriage, this baffles my husband. He looks over at me, eyes wide with concern, and whispers, “Are you okay?”

“Oh, yeah.” I smile blissfully as another waterfall plunges over my chin. “Couldn’t be better.”

For those among us who feel awkward about our abundance of tears, here’s good news: Leaking for the Lord has a long and honorable history. King David once confessed, “I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.” (Psalms 6:6). Flood, weep, drench—sure, we get that. At God’s bidding, the prophet Jeremiah of old called for the wailing women: “Let them come quickly and wail over us till our eyes overflow with tears and water streams from our eyelids. (Jeremiah 9:18) And the apostle Paul “served the Lord with great humility and with tears” (Acts 20:19), which rules out the real-men-don’t-cry argument.

Truth is, everybody’s favorite memory verse says it all: “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). When we cry, we’re in good company, especially considering what Jesus’ tears communicated about his relationship with the late Lazarus: “See how he loved him!” (John 11:36)

Our silent tears speak volumes.

One Saturday morning a teary-eyed Missouri woman sat in my conference audience, convinced her tears were a stumbling block to serving God. Then she heard me share a story from the Bible about an unnamed woman who’d lived a sinful life and sought out Jesus: “And as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears” (Luke 7:38).

The minute I finished teaching, this leaking sister sought me out. Between sniffs she explained, “I want more than anything to help hurting people who come forward at church for prayer. But the minute I hear their stories, I start weeping, which embarrasses me no end. Now, I just hide in the pew.”

“Ah.” I gave her a big hug. “You have a ministry of tears.”

“A what?”

Uh-oh. I’d already told her more than I knew on the subject. The Lord came to my rescue and gave me the words she needed to hear. “Your tears help others not feel foolish about weeping. The Bible tells us to ‘mourn with those who mourn’ (Romans 12:15), and to ‘comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.’ (2 Corinthians 1:4) You see? Your tears are a help, not a hindrance.”

I printed off all the Bible verses about weeping that I could find and sent them to my new friend. Marcia got the message loud and clear. A few weeks later, she wrote back: “During this evening’s service, a lady in our church knelt at the altar, praying and crying desperately. And guess who God shoved right down that aisle to help her? After she shared her needs with me, I did my usual leaking and a whole lot of blubbering. I had a very difficult time speaking above the sobs, but I prayed with her. And I loved her.”

(Hang on a second; let me find a tissue.)

She finished with, “One of the verses you sent me said, ‘He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy.’ (Psalms 126:6) All my life, I thought my tears were a curse. I just wanted you to know, I’m reaping a harvest of joy in Missouri!”

Those of us who leak in the other 49 states and Canada can’t wait to join you, sister.

God can and will use anything we surrender to him. Laughter and tears. Joy and sorrow. Victories and mistakes. Strengths and weaknesses. We minister to others best when we offer our true selves—as is—not waiting until we’ve cleaned up our acts or dried up our tears, but right now, leaks and all.

My role model isn’t Mary or Martha, it’s Marcia from Missouri who bravely put herself in God’s hands and trusted him to bring the tissues.

Copyright 2006 Liz Curtis Higgs

Liz Curtis Higgs is a conference speaker and the author of 24 books, including Embrace Grace (WaterBrook Press). She lives with her family in Louisville, Kentucky. Visit her Web site: www.LizCurtisHiggs.com.