Heavenly Tears

Recently, I waited at an airport’s international terminal for my friend Ann. She was returning from a visit to Germany.

As I watched for her, I got caught up watching the emotional reunions of passengers and their loved ones. A young woman from southeast Asia held flowers and jumped up as her parents came into view —her mother in a sari and her father wearing a sarong. Smiling, he bowed to her before they hugged.

Next, an airport employee brought an Asian woman through the arrival gate in a wheelchair. Her son took off running toward her, and they touched each other’s cheeks, the right one and then the left.

Soon they chattered excitedly in Mandarin.

A Caucasian college student, wearing short shorts, tights, and hiking boots, tromped through next. Her thick hair was in dreadlocks.

Her father, dressed in a business suit, threw his arms around his free-spirited daughter and her tie-dyed backpack. When a Hispanic woman appeared, her daughter bent over and touched the top of her shoes two times in a gesture of honor and love. Then their squeals of joy erupted. By the time Ann came through the arrival gate, tears were rolling down my cheeks. She asked why I looked so sad in greeting her! “Oh,” I tried to explain, “these are tears of … well, how can I describe it?” I couldn’t. But I decided that when I get to heaven, I’m going to stand in a spot where I can watch as many reunions as I can all at once! I can’t imagine that I won’t be sobbing.

Yet the Bible promises that in heaven, God will wipe all tears from our eyes. One theory of why we cry here on Earth is that we’re experiencing emotional overload, and our tears are a way of releasing some of that emotion.

So, when God puts an end to crying, I’m certain it won’t be because we’re no longer experiencing powerful positive emotions, such as love and connection. It will be because we finally have a boundless capacity to contain and savor them!

Lori Peckham