These words, "if you could see where Jesus brought me from to where I am today, then you would know the reason why I love him so," are words to an old hymn that resonates in my mind today.

The life I should be living, based on how I was raised, I am not. The life I now live is not the life I deserve. My current life has been gifted to me, all because a kind and gracious God loves me. Yes, he allowed me to experience some awful things, but how could he not; we live in a fallen, sick world. Yes, he watched it all, and he, too, cried. As a matter of fact, he is collecting a tear bottle for you and me.

Ancient Middle Eastern times speak of tear bottles. The stories are centered on the collection of tears during times of mourning or separation from loved ones. In the old days, the women would collect their tears while their loved one was away, at war with another nation. When their loved one returned, the tear bottle would be presented as a sign of love and devotion. In stories from ancient Roman days, mourners would collect their tears using a bottle and leave the bottle at the burial site as a sign of love and respect.

Knowing these stories, I was overwhelmed when my husband brought me home a picture of some of these old tear bottles. They were not small bottles, as one might imagine, but they were jars. JARS! All shapes and sizes! A lot like people.

What a picture! The God of the universe is collecting our personal tears. From the youngest of age, God has cried with you and with me, and one day He will not only wipe every tear from our eyes but will show us that he saw every pain and heartache we walked through.

Forget the fact that I love Jesus so. God first loved me (us), and He has the bottles to prove it!

For proof, check out Psalm 56:8 and Revelations 21:4