Towards the end of the summer this year it I felt like so many were carrying so much and the verse from Psalm 56 kept rolling around inside me:
You have collected all my tears in your bottle—Psalm 56:8
I thought maybe…maybe if we could see a tangible representation of that verse people might remember that with God nothing is wasted. It might encourage the hearts of my dear people in this time. I called a young glass blower I know and asked him if he could make me one tear catcher. “Maybe,” he said. “What’s a tear catcher?”
And so began our research into the little glass bottles used by a variety of peoples and cultures throughout the centuries. A few weeks later William, young glassblower extraordinaire, showed up at my house with a box of tiny bottles. “I didn’t know how to choose, so I brought what I’ve been working on. You can pick which one you like.” Honestly, I couldn’t choose either. Each one had it’s own personality. I took all twelve.
I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears—2 Kings 20:5
There were more stories than I can tell here, but I’d like to share one:
Hi, Michelle,
At our event last Thursday, a young girl of about 8 or so was dropped off by her dad, and they had some discussion about getting her a snack for during break time. She headed off to class, and her dad dutifully purchased a couple of snacks, but then took them to his car to save for her until classes were over. At break time, she came to the snack table expecting to find something waiting, and was notably disappointed when she learned what had happened. She went and stood in a corner, and out of the corner of my eye, I could see her slowly crumbling into teary sadness. I went and spoke with her, and we finally agreed that it might help to get a drink of water since she couldn't have her snack until later.
On the way to the water fountain, she looked up through her tears and saw the tiny glass bottles on their shelves in the hall. "What are those?" she asked. I explained to her what the sign described, and the scripture verse that provided the inspiration. She was so captivated by this idea! She got a drink, and came back and looked again as her tears began to dry...
"I wonder why God wants to collect our tears?
Does he save them up and drink them when he gets thirsty?
Or maybe he uses them to fill up the clouds to give us rain!"
And her small sorrow was turned to wonder at the loving care of our creative God. She ran off refreshed and joyful, and my heart was so thankful that our church embraces art.
The tear catchers attracted a lot of attention and within a week they had all sold. People who bought them all had intensely personal reasons and I know some bottles traveled across the country to those who were grieving. This is one of the ways God uses artisans to draw us back into His beautiful heart.
The psalmist in Psalm 56:8 uses the image of God catching our tears in a bottle to proclaim God's holy concern for every single moment of our lives. Nothing is wasted. No one is unseen.
Many thanks to William McBride who said yes without knowing what was being asked of him.