Sometimes my prayer is spoken through teardrops
The overflow of my swirling thoughts

A wordless outcry from the depths of my heart
Each drop like a torrent, right from the start
The floodgates open and tears flow freely
You understand each one and catch it tenderly
Gathering them in a bottle, you hold them close
In return, pouring out your love in perfect dose

Your spirit interprets the cries deep in my soul
The overwhelming mix of joy and an aching hole
My tears invite you to fill it, in the way only you can
Deepening my reliance on you and trust in your plan
Waiting on your promises to come to be
With an expectant hope and aching deeply

My tears are filled with gratitude and love
Humbled by your provision, sent from above
Through all the trials, storms, and pain
You’ve refined my heart, I’m no longer the same
I’ve learned your joy coexists with so much
It sweetens the highs and softens the punch

Words fall short of expressing it all
But you hear every layer with each tear fall
You don’t need my words to understand
Just my willingness to open my hands
Releasing the weight of hopes and fears
Laid at your feet, through my falling tears
Freeing my mind to reach out to you
Pulling me close, as only you can do

Minutes may pass, or hours till it stops
Sometimes my prayer is spoken through teardrops

12.10.23

As I was driving home from a joyful evening with people I love, I was hit with a wave of emotion. Overwhelmed by the mix of joy, aching, gratitude, longing, surrender, and so much more, I started weeping. I tried to find the words to cry out to God, but couldn’t find words to capture all that I was feeling. I felt the Holy Spirit saying, “I understand your tears.” I felt so close to God, but still wept the entire way home, literally crying out to Him. The words written above, came to me as I processed what I was feeling, what I had experienced, and this new understanding of how God hears my heart when I cry.