"A Cowboy's Tears"

A cowboy’s tears are rarely seen,

Because of how he’s taught,

Though he feels things mighty keen,

Unless off guard he’s caught,

A-standin’ by a horse that’s down,

And he’s sayin’ quiet good-bye,

To that old boy so far from town,

And now out here he’ll lie.

Or maybe when he found his Dad,

Expired out on the plain,

Best friend that he ever had,

But he won’t show his pain.

Maybe when his girl was born,

He had to turn away,

‘Cause from his eyes the tears were torn,

And all that he could say,

Was help me, Lord, to be the Dad,

I know that I should be,

Deliver me from all that’s bad,

Your way to clearly see.

But there’s that one time he didn’t care,

And all could see he cried,

When the preacher made the solemn dare,

To come to Christ who died.

And to that altar down the aisle,

They all could hear his spurs,

He knelt and prayed there for awhile,

And nothing could deter,

The tears of his repentance fell,

And he was born again,

Saved by Jesus, safe from hell,

He’ll always know just when.

A cowboy’s tears may be rare,

And something you don’t see,

But never think he doesn’t care,

He does, take it from me.

“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected my tears in Your bottle. You have recorded each one in Your book.” (Psalm 56:8, NLT)

This verse and others like it remind us that God is with us in our sorrows. Jesus said that those who mourn would receive God’s comfort. He is close to the broken-hearted and those who are crushed in spirit. The Lord actually tracks our sorrows and bottles our tears, awaiting the day when every tear will be wiped from our eyes and sorrow will forever end. Jesus bore our griefs and by His stripes we are healed. There is not doubt that He is the great healer of all that hurts us, and the only Comforter who can bring real relief. Take your burden to the Lord, and leave it there.

Lord, please heal our broken hearts, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Jason Rich, used by permission. Thanks, Jason, and God bless you.