Happy Tears

Some of you may be familiar with the TV series “The Golden Girls.” One of the characters is Sophia, the mother of Dorothy. Sophia is an immigrant to this country from Sicily.

When Sophia tells a story, the opening is always, “Picture this … Sicily 1920 …. “ Now, I am asking you to picture this:

A beautiful Saturday late afternoon in the month of June 2010. The scene is a lovely garden setting, beautifully decorated for an elegant wedding. The guests are of all ages and appropriately attired. The groom is handsome, trying to contain his nervousness standing there awaiting the arrival of his bride. The bride, looking like a goddess, radiating beauty and love. A Mona Lisa-like smile is upon her face; not too much, not to little – almost trance like.

After some opening remarks by the minister, the father places the bride’s hand into the hands of the groom, and takes his place next to his wife. Up to this point, everyone has displayed a spirited joyfulness.

So, why are there now tears flowing down the faces of the families and guests - even down the faces of our beautiful bride and handsome groom? It’s because the group has tapped into that well of “Happy Tears!”Those are the tears which are the pearls of the soul. Perhaps it’s that point where the smiles need a splash of added happiness, and behold, it’s a gusher and it’s contagious!

Later while preparing to leave, T. Wade was inside the house collecting our items for departure, when Abbey (age 5) came up to him while he was alone, pulled on his pants leg and asked very quietly, "Will you be my minister at my wedding?" Wade said he had to bite his lip to keep back his emotions, but assured her that he would make every effort to be present. He said the smile came quickly, but a deeper feeling was hiding with that happy little face which had just seen so much joy surrounding her. She wanted that joy in her future.

All tears are representative of some deep emotion. Some are summoned by painful, hurtful events. They come from a place of sadness. Thank God – some are flowing from our sense of the beautiful, the invigorating, the healing and the rejuvenating. They are coming from a place of happiness.

Happy tears are often seen on the faces of parents when their baby enters the world. I remember seeing young mothers weeping as they shared with friends and family the day their little one took that first step. I’m sure there are many more life experiences which create happy tears – tears of relief.

I would love to hear your stories of your happy tears. Take a moment and share with me.

Love,
Reverend Elisheva