Have you counted yourself out of the race of life?
Lindsey Wheeler had when she was laying in bed listening to a live stream of conference speaker Jennie Allen. Lindsey was supposed to be at the conference, but her symptoms from Lyme disease had her bedridden.
“I remember having my computer open listening to her online and Jennie said, ‘have you disqualified yourself from the race? Have you pulled yourself out and disqualified yourself?’”
Immediately when she heard those words, Lindsey knew she had disqualified herself because of her illness.
“I remember just weeping at that point because I was so sick and just saying, I have, I have disqualified myself and I want to get back in the race. I want to love others the way that Jesus wants me to and even if I’m stuck in bed, what does that look like for me Lord?”
Right away, God answered her question.
“He just gave me this beautiful picture in my mind of a vintage bottle.”
This image reminded Lindsey of one of her favorite verses of Scripture.
“You keep track of all my sorrows. You’ve collected all my tears in your bottle and you’ve recorded each one in your book.” Psalm 56:8
“What a picture that God sees us in our pain, and that He cares about every single tear. That’s beautiful, especially when you’re stuck in the midst of some painful experience.”
In that moment, her ministry Bottle of Tears was born.
“So I went online and I bought a logo on Etsy for five dollars. I had no business starting a small business, but I thought that’s something I can do from home, I can create these little gifts of hope and start sending them to people around the country that are feeling the same way I am. I just started collecting vintage bottles which I’ve always loved and got a beautiful print created with Psalm 56:8 on them and I put them in every single vintage bottle.”
Lindsey Wheeler is the founder of the online shop of curated gifts of hope called Bottle of Tears. Lindsey has been battling Lyme disease for more than ten years and lives in daily expectation that God will one day heal her completely. Lindsey wants to spread the message to all they we are not alone, there is a purpose in our pain, God loves us, see us, and our stories are not over.
Key Scripture: Psalm 27:13-14
Featured Songs: It Is Well – Bethel Music; No Wonder – River Valley; Everything Comes Alive – We Are Messengers
Bottle of Tears
