{"id":26505,"date":"2019-09-26T03:30:05","date_gmt":"2019-09-26T10:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=26505"},"modified":"2019-09-24T14:38:10","modified_gmt":"2019-09-24T21:38:10","slug":"september-26-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2019\/09\/26\/september-26-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"September 26, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”\u00a0<\/em>Psalm 34:18<\/p>\n

Unexpected Joys<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I had the privilege of sharing on behalf of Floyd for a few minutes in the opening session of a conference.\u00a0In the midst of that, my heart was suddenly impacted with grief.\u00a0The thought raced through my mind that Floyd should be there\u2014he should be speaking.\u00a0As soon as I finished, I went outside with tears streaming down my face.<\/p>\n

I had no idea this would happen.\u00a0It was so unexpected.\u00a0But 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.<\/p>\n

For all of us\u2014whatever the sadness and grief is that we might be walking through\u2014it’s so important to not bottle it up. Let it surface and be expressed.\u00a0I think that’s how God ministers His healing grace to us…in little doses over time.\u00a0He keeps cleansing the “wound” of sadness until it’s fully healed.\u00a0It may take years.\u00a0God knows the timetable that is best for each of us.<\/p>\n

Jesus can empathize with our sorrow.\u00a0He has walked through suffering.\u00a0He 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.\u00a0He never leaves us alone to cope with the sorrow.<\/p>\n

Shortly after all this happened, someone asked to pray for me.\u00a0Their prayer was for “unexpected” joy.\u00a0I 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.\u00a0But I’ve come to realize that it’s, once again, the way God in His lovingkindness balances out the “scales” in our lives.\u00a0Too much grief and sadness would destroy us, so He compensates with special joys along the way.<\/p>\n

The joys come in an amazing variety of ways.\u00a0A big smile from Floyd.\u00a0A hug from a friend.\u00a0A word of encouragement from someone. Beautiful flowers.\u00a0A stunning sunset.\u00a0The majestic beauty of the ocean.\u00a0Seeing whales in our bay\u2014which I saw yesterday.\u00a0A song of worship.\u00a0A scripture passage that seems to speak right to my heart. The tweeting of birds out my window.\u00a0The list goes on and on.\u00a0God knows what ministers joy to my heart, and is continually bringing those joys to me.\u00a0Many, perhaps most, of the joys are small. It would be easy to miss them if we’re not looking.<\/p>\n

Unexpected events, unexpected sorrow, and unexpected joy…all held together in the Lord’s loving and faithful care.<\/p>\n

\u201cFather, we know that on the days when the grief is there, the joy will also come. It’s easy to feel that we\u2019ll always be sad because of the weight of things.\u00a0But that’s not true.\u00a0The sad times, the times of grief, are hard, but You will walk with us through them.\u00a0Amen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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