LIVE. LAUGH. LOVE.

It had been a rough week. A steady stream of bad news had battered my spirits and stressed my soul. Everything seemed to be going wrong at once. My fearful, worried mind wouldn't rest and my tired feet kept pacing through my house carrying my body along with them. "If only I could clear my head", I thought to myself. "If only I could calm my heart"

I had turned the radio on earlier but its music had failed to relax me. I continued to ignore it until my ears heard a bittersweet melody that always reminded me of my late Mother. As the song slowly penetrated the wall of worry I had put up, I remembered my Mom's love, her smile, her sparkling eyes, and the way she lit up every room she walked into. Then I felt something wet on my cheeks. Tears were flowing down them. When I was younger I would have blinked them back or tried to hide them but not this time. This time I just let them fall. After a few moments a peace descended on me. I felt loved. I felt loved by my Mom. I felt loved by God. All my worries seemed unimportant in the face of that love. I saw once again that I had been looking at life with cloudy eyes and had been missing what was essential. I thanked God and my Mom for that reminder, for that song, and for the gift of tears.

The inspirational author and speaker Leo Buscaglia said: "Tears are good for you. They clean out your eyeballs." They also clean out your soul. They wash away worry, fear, and stress and allow peace, love, and joy to take their place. They help remind you of what is important in life. They take away your pain and lead you gently back to God.

The next time that you feel tears forming in your eyes don't blink them away. Don't hold them back. Let them fall. Let them help clear your eyes, heart, mind, and soul. Let them wash away your pain. Let them carry you back again to your Heavenly Father's loving arms.