Sorrow and Joy

Two words that have been spinning around inside my head for the last little while. Two very opposite words. Two intense emotions. The sorrow of losing a loved one and the joy of knowing they are home with their Lord. The sorrow when a long-time friendship is broken and joy when a new lasting friendship is built. The sorrow of a birthmother when she releases her child and the joy of the adoptive parents as they welcome their new little one into their home. The sorrow of a tragedy like Haiti and yet the joy in the midst of that sorrow when another survivor is found. It has brought many different thoughts to mind and while those thoughts are still rather scattered I am going to share a few here and hope that they make sense.


I was visiting my Grandma one afternoon last week and as we quite often do we prayed together before I left. Her prayer really touched my heart as she began to thank the Lord for all of her blessings and how she wonders what she has done to deserve those blessings. Now you have to know what's going on with my Grandma. She is 90 years old, almost blind, losing her hearing, bent over from severe osteoporosis and has arthritis and emphysema. Of course she has days and times where she complains and who can fault her for that but on this day she was thanking the Lord for her blessings, for thinking of her, for loving her, even though she isn't worthy. I am moved to tears to think of it. In the midst of her sorrow and struggle and weakness she is thankful to the Lord for her blessings that are too numerous to count.


I have a friend who, unbeknownst to her, taught me a lesson years ago. She taught me to be thankful for the little things that others may not notice. We would be walking along and she would, out loud, thank God for the little flower she saw, or bird, or butterfly, etc. At first I thought it was just cute and a little different but then I realized how right she was. We thank God for the big obvious things but how often do we thank Him for the smaller things?Because of that friend I now thank the Lord when I see a beautiful sunrise, a bunny hopping down the trail, hear the birds singing in the trees, find a good parking spot, when the sweater I have been wanting goes on sale. When I do it really feels like God is doing those things just for me, waiting for me to notice, to feel His love, to feel the joy in His heart when I notice and thank Him for the little things. And you know what? It brings joy to my heart too. I can start out on one of my morning walks and just be struggling with things in my heart and there it is, something that touches my heart that I know God put there just for me, to remind me that He is here and hasn't forgotten.


I found a quote a number of years ago that every once in a while comes to mind and in the last couple weeks hasn't really left. That quote is this.....


"We have no right to ask when a sorrow comes, 'Why did this happen to me?' unless we ask the same question for every joy that comes our way."


I know there is much more to joy and sorrow that I could get into and really dissect and discuss but I guess my main point here is that we so often wallow in our sorrows and ask why but how often do we take joy in the little things and thank the Lord for those things, for thinking of us, for loving us, for blessing us in the midst of our sorrow?


So as you go through your days remember to pay attention to the little things that God brings your way. Even in the midst of whatever sorrow you may be going through you will find that joy begins to take root.