Wet Glass Bottle

Over the past 2 or 3 weeks, I have either read, heard, or have been reminded of a certain verse. I have read it in my devotions, I have read it in different places on Facebook, I have heard it on the radio. I kept thinking how cool it was to hear and read that verse over and over, but then it dawned on me that God must be wanting to remind me how faithful He is to His children even when it doesn't seem like He is hearing my earnest prayers.

Psalm 56:8  "You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book."

I have heard this verse and read it many times over the years, but when you get married, start your own life and life starts happening, this verse takes on a whole new meaning. The other night I was laying in bed and it was around 1:00 in the morning and I couldn't get to sleep. I had just read this verse on Facebook somewhere that day and I got to thinking about it. I prayed that God would constantly remind me of this verse when hardships come. I then began thinking deeply about this verse. When I see or read this verse, a very clear picture comes to mind. Here in the Grinstead household, we get all our milk delivered in a cooler on our porch every week. We love it. The milk we get comes in glass bottles. Clean, clear glass bottles with a tight lid on them. That is the type of bottle I picture in this verse. I also picture "HEATHER" written across it with big bold letters. Yes, of course there are lots of Heather's in the this world, but this bottle with "HEATHER" written across it is mine, and God knows that this bottle is for this Heather, not the Heather living in another town. My bottle is getting full. What looks like a bunch of clear (with a little mascara) liquid to me, they look totally different to God. See, God knows exactly what each tear drop in my bottle represents. I don't remember what all I have shed tears over in my 27 years of life, but I do remember some top moments that brought me to shambles. God knows which of my tears were shed when I got in trouble as a little girl, or when I sat in the car with mom and dad after I just found out I didn't make the volleyball team, or when I got in a fight with my best friend, or when we got the phone call that my grandma had died, or when I was homesick at camp, or how about when we only saw 1 line on millions (or so it seemed) of home pregnancy tests, or when we lost our precious little son Eli, or when we thought we were going to lose Lina'e, or that time when we didn't know how we were going to put a meal on the table for our kids. God knows exactly how many tears were shed in those life events and He has recorded them all. My tears are not forgotten. God knows. God remembers.

See, those tears that we cry, are all recorded with God. They are not forgotten. When things in life happen and I feel like God isn't listening or hearing my prayers, He always takes me by the hand and He sits me down. (This is how I envision it in my mind) He finds my glass bottle on one of the highest shelves. My bottle is amongst Bill's and Jennifer's and Sue's. He gets my bottle down and sits down with me. He takes the lid off and He begins to pour my tears out very slowly. And as He pours out each tear, He reminds me what that tear was for. After He shows me and reminds me of all my tears, He looks at me and says, "Heather, my child, if I know what all of these tears mean and represent, what makes you think that I don't know what you need?" And as I sit in silence with tears flowing down my face, God quietly places them in my bottle.  

Maybe your tears represent something different than mine. Perhaps your tears represent the loss of a job, or the loss of a child or spouse, or your house being forclosed on, or losing a pet, or having a miscarriage, or burning the meal that you were going to serve to your guests, or a flat tire on a rainy day, or when your child has gone on a different path than you hoped, or when you are hoping for and waiting on a child. Sometimes our tears seems so silly in a situation, but you know what? God doesn't think they are silly. Tears represent hurt. God knows our hearts. You have a clear glass bottle with your name written in big, bold letters across it just like I do. Maybe yours is getting full too. God always takes us back to our big, wet, glass bottles. He reminds us about His faithfulness in all our situations of life. If He knows your tears, if He knows my tears, then surely He knows our wants and needs. Re-visit your glass bottle, and I am sure you will be reminded once more of God's faithfulness.

Hero for a Day

This past week, we had the wonderful opportunity to got to Florida with my parents, my sister, and my 7 month old niece. Our days included early morning sunrises with Krispy Kreme doughnuts, walks on the beach, seashell hunting, swimming, laying out, eating out at yummy restaurants, laughing, people watching, walks on the boardwalk, shopping, etc. Most of the time was spent at the beach and pool but we took one day and headed to Disney World for the day. Lina'e, Kagon, and Adriana both had a special shirt to wear for the day, they each had a cute Disney Stroller, they had their sunglasses, and they were ready for the day. The whole time we were in the car on the way to Disney, my excitement grew and grew. I was excited because I had experienced the whole Disney thing before and loved it. I was even more excited this time because I got to take my kiddos this time. I couldn't wait to see their reactions. I couldn't wait to experience Disney this time, through their eyes.

We got there shortly after Magic Kingdom opened. We got our tickets, took potty breaks, and then we were just in time for the parade that was about to start in 10 minutes. We were right on the sidewalk, right where the parade would be coming through, so we parked our strollers, and sat down and tried to wait patiently for the parade to start. Those 10 minutes seemed like an eternity. See, to my 2 little kids, we were just sitting on an ordinary sidewalk as a family enjoying the nice Florida breeze. Then the music began to play. My heart started racing, the excitement was stronger than ever in my heart.

As a parent, I am sure many of you can relate. Times are sometimes tough and although we want to give our kids the world, and would love to do something like this everyday for them, reality is...we can't. So, when we as parents can do something this special for our children, it feels soooooo good. The music began to play, and I could hear cheering and clapping, and could see glimpses of the Disney floats. I hear Mickey and Minnie talking and then the talking gets closer. There they are. There are the mice that we had been counting down the days to see. Lina'e claps and and yells, "There he (Mickey) is!!!" Then comes Cinderella, and Snow White, and Beauty and the Beast, Ariel, etc. Seeing our 1 year old little boy wave to Mickey Mouse like he has never waved before, and to see our 2 year old little girl blow kisses back to Cinderella were enough to make tears flow from my eyes. The whole thing was magical. I wish I could take those few seconds of pure magic from my kids' perspective, and bottle it up forever. My tears were not tears of sadness, but tears of happiness. That day, I felt like I did give them the world. That day as we rode Dumbo, It's A Small World, Ariel, etc., I enjoyed the magic through my kids eyes. It isn't everyday that they get to experience that.

After spending about 14 hours at the most magical place on earth, we loaded up the car, put the kids in their carseats with their new soft Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and within minutes, both children were out. As I looked back into the back seat and saw their cute little faces fast asleep, squeezing tight their Mickey and Minnie, I could only imagine what kind of dreams they were having. Just as they were squeezing their Mickey and Minnie, I prayed that God would allow them to hang on tight to the memories of that day, even though they are only 2 years old and 1 year old. What a great day of memories with our children. That day, I truly felt like their hero!