Sorrow and Joy
“Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.”
–2 Corinthians 6:10
As I’m continuing to walk this journey of “life” I realized how much “life” there is out there that quite honestly I never saw coming. And being quite young yet, I’m beginning to understand that we don’t write our own life stories. I’m beginning to understand that what my dreams may have been might look very different to how my life plays out. I’m beginning to realize that I’m not in control.
Yet I’m grateful.
Grateful that its not all in my hands.
Grateful that there’s someone that that can see the bigger picture while I’m stuck in a freeze frame of my life.
Grateful that whatever we go through, we can choose to see the joy.
It’s coming on 1 year of Jules’ birth. Wow. In some respects I can’t believe how fast it went, and in others I feel like it was just yesterday. Quite honestly, I was hoping by this time I would have already had an announcement that we were pregnant, that my belly would be huge (with the twins I’ve been praying for:)) and that we would have a new little bundle of joy to focus on. Quite honestly I thought I deserved to have an easy go of it this time around. I’ve served my sorrow for at least a few years, the least Lord you can do is allow me to get pregnant and send another bundle of joy as soon as possible. I deserve that.
Honesty.
But…I’m not here today to bring you exciting baby news.
There are no announcements.
And since Ju Ju we’ve actually welcomed another little peanut into heaven. Instead of a little brother or sister for Tate and Kynlee, Juliet got a sibling. And in my book it wasn’t supposed to happen that way. Yet through it all I’ve had this thought continue to run through my head…
“In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18
And after a few hard days of not knowing how to work through my emotions, what to do with the anger of it all, I started again to give thanks.
I gave thanks for these smiling faces…
that allow me to laugh and bring joy when you think you can’t smile.
I gave thanks for this man..
that makes me feel like the most beautiful woman ever, makeup or not.
I’m thankful for this view…
that the Lord BLESSED us with, that we can sing praises of his creation.
and for these two little balls of fur..
Tom on top went missing yesterday and with lots of tears and prayers last night from Tate and Kynlee, he was brought back safely by our neighbor, who found him in one of his trees.
There is always something to give thanks for. Even when we don’t think there is. Even if its something tiny like a reunited kitty or a beautiful sunset. Where there is sorrow, you can find joy. It’s a choice we must make, and once we do I am here to encourage you that the Lord TRULY blesses it! He blesses it with peace. He blesses it with love. He blesses it with joy. When it doesn’t make any sense, He blesses it. And later…when we can leave the freeze frame moment of our lives, we can see how the Lord worked through it all. We can learn from the sorrow of our lives, the hardships we’ve been through. We can take bits and pieces and use it to encourage others. To strengthen our faith. To know God better.
This came from my morning reading and I love it..
Does sorrow lay his hand upon your shoulder,
and walk with you in silence on life’s way,
While joy, your bright companion once, grown colder,
Becomes to you more distant day by day?
Run not from the companionship of Sorrow,
He is the messenger of God to thee;
And you will thank Him in His great tomorrow–
For what you do not know now, you then will see;
He is God’s angel, clothed in veils of night,
With whom “we walk by faith” and “not by sight.”
It is in some of our darkest hours that our faith grows the most, and I thank Jesus for that! My prayer is that you choose to see the joy through the sorrow. Even if it’s just one small thing today, choose to give thanks!
