“Put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?” (Psa 56:8, KJV). The “bottle” here was probably a wineskin, a sort of leather container.
In his novel, The Tears of the Giraffe, Alexander McCall Smith recounts a beautiful Botswanan tradition. In this small African country, the artwork on some baskets includes a number of small lines and marks. These are called “the tears of the giraffe”. The legend is that, once upon a time, all the animals brought gifts to God. There were many wonderful gifts, but the giraffe had nothing to bring. It wept because of this, and its tears became its only gift.
The lesson for us is this: There are many gifts which we might offer to God. But the greatest gift we can give is our tears: the tears of repentance and devotion — the tears of our hearts. God receives these tears, and keeps them, and cherishes them. They are the gift of love.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One