“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18

Unexpected Joys

I had the privilege of sharing on behalf of Floyd for a few minutes in the opening session of a conference. In the midst of that, my heart was suddenly impacted with grief. The thought raced through my mind that Floyd should be there—he should be speaking. As soon as I finished, I went outside with tears streaming down my face.

I had no idea this would happen. It was so unexpected. But I’ve been learning that sadness and grief can strike at any time. I’m choosing to let the tears come, to let the sadness surface as I know it has a healing and cleansing benefit.

For all of us—whatever the sadness and grief is that we might be walking through—it’s so important to not bottle it up. Let it surface and be expressed. I think that’s how God ministers His healing grace to us…in little doses over time. He keeps cleansing the “wound” of sadness until it’s fully healed. It may take years. God knows the timetable that is best for each of us.

Jesus can empathize with our sorrow. He has walked through suffering. He is able to help carry our grief, and pour His love into our pain. He wipes away the tears we cry with His love and grace. He never leaves us alone to cope with the sorrow.

Shortly after all this happened, someone asked to pray for me. Their prayer was for “unexpected” joy. I love that, because I’ve experienced it! In the midst of all the loss and sadness, there has also been rich joy. At first when I experienced it I felt guilty for being joyful. But I’ve come to realize that it’s, once again, the way God in His lovingkindness balances out the “scales” in our lives. Too much grief and sadness would destroy us, so He compensates with special joys along the way.

The joys come in an amazing variety of ways. A big smile from Floyd. A hug from a friend. A word of encouragement from someone. Beautiful flowers. A stunning sunset. The majestic beauty of the ocean. Seeing whales in our bay—which I saw yesterday. A song of worship. A scripture passage that seems to speak right to my heart. The tweeting of birds out my window. The list goes on and on. God knows what ministers joy to my heart, and is continually bringing those joys to me. Many, perhaps most, of the joys are small. It would be easy to miss them if we’re not looking.

Unexpected events, unexpected sorrow, and unexpected joy…all held together in the Lord’s loving and faithful care.

“Father, we know that on the days when the grief is there, the joy will also come. It’s easy to feel that we’ll always be sad because of the weight of things. But that’s not true. The sad times, the times of grief, are hard, but You will walk with us through them. Amen.”