What brings you to tears?

Not very often I stumble across something that can bring me to tears. I'm not one of those that cries at Hallmark greeting cards. However, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is one such thing. The stories are genuinely touching.

But, that is not the object of this post. This last Sunday afternoon I took a flying trip down to Central Texas to watch several students from my former church graduate. We were running late and I told the girls riding with me, "Well, we're going to miss the pledges and the national anthem." And, I told them I was sad about it. It is my favorite part of such ceremonies.

When we got there we realized they were running about five minutes late. So, we walked in just as they posted the colors. Non-military communities do not understand how significant and meaningful this part of any ceremony truly is. Then, the national anthem was announced.

I was standing at the entrance tunnel and could only see the HUGE flag hanging from the top of the Bell County Expo Center. I stood and watched as the Harker Heights High School band began to play.

Immediately I felt a shiver of awe and reverence and emotion throughout my entire body. My eyes began to well-up. I did not weep, but I also could not stop the response of it all. Every time I hear the national anthem I feel the same way. Grateful and humbled by the men and women who have given so much, even their lives, so I could stand and listen to or sing the words that embody our national freedom. It happens. Every. Single. Time.

As I reflected on this a bit in the last couple of days I was reminded of Bible study last week. We were talking about what it means to be community, to live out gospel. The words of my prayer (and my heart....at least some of the time) is "break my heart for things that break your heart, God." Then, as I thought about how a song can bring me to tears, I realized that my heart sometimes breaks for things that are not quite what I mean by that prayer.

Sometimes my heart breaks because of my own emotional baggage or current situation. Sometimes it isn't that my heart is breaking, but that my spirit is broken by my own sin and selfishness. --Now I realize that tears do not equal a broken heart, but often for me they are closely related.

So I ask, what brings you to tears? What causes you to well-up with emotion? What causes your heart to break? Is it something that breaks God's heart?


Grace and Peace.