and then Smoke got in my eyes…

Smoke gets in your eyes when your heart’s on fire; smoke also gets in your eyes when a lovely flame dies…

As I listened to that old song being sung by the Platters today my mind kept thinking of all the smoke I have had in my eyes over the years, and what does the smoke bring with it? 

Why tears of course.

The tears that come when “your heart’s on fire” are sometimes happy ones that happen when you are emotionally charged with the spirit of joy! I have cried happy tears lots of times.

I have also cried the tears that the smoke from “a lovely flame dying” brought about, and yes I cried plenty of those as I watched a true love walk away…

but at this moment in time I will say that “smoke” represents the troubles, trials, heartbreaks and heartaches that we go through, and are going through to get to where we need to be.

I’m glad that God puts all our sins behind His forgiving back…

Lamentations 3:22-23 Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

His memories of us are not the sins we have done, but rather the time we called on his name and asked Jesus to come into our hearts as Lord and Savior.

He remembers the prayers we have prayed and the tears we have shed…

Psalm 56:8 You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book?

He puts our tears into His bottle and He saves them, I just have to say wow to that!

He listens to us as we talk about Him and give our testimonies to one another…

Malachi 3:16-17 Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, And the LORD listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who meditate on His name. “They shall be Mine,” says the LORD of hosts,” On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.”

God looks at us as if we are precious jewels! 

If you think about how much pressure a stone has to endure before it becomes precious and how after it is mined it has to go through a cutting and polishing process before it will sparkle as you hold it in the light, and if you remember that a pearl is formed when the tears of the oyster tries to cleanse out a grain of sand, it will help you understand that trials and tribulations are for our good! 

You may be crying because you have smoke in your eyes but in the process of all that pressure you may become a diamond, as for me I think I already achieved pearl status and now I want to be a ruby!