Squirrels scampering...
Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ~ Romans 12:15 ESV
There's tension in rejoicing and weeping for me - in the knowing of pain others are experiencing while expressing my gratitude for the abundance of all that is good in my life. How can I rejoice, when others weep? I wonder.
Goldfinches chirping...
I remember how I felt the day my mother died nearly ten years ago, as though it was yesterday. It was a stunningly clear cerulean blue day - just four days after Easter - and it made me angry. "How dare it be beautiful on the day my mother died." I cried.
and a little boy playing in the dirt...
It's been a weeping, heart-heavy week of pain and grief and brokenness in the lives of many I love, and yet I kissed the sweet head of my two week old granddaughter and played and laughed all day with her four year old big brother, and rejoiced in the goodness of God that surrounds me. It was perfectly delightful, and I fear my rejoicing wounds the hearts of those who weep even more.
...on a chartreuse winter day on Pollywog Creek
From the pages of Sarah Young's Jesus Calling, a friend in pain wrote...
"Hope is like a golden cord connecting you to heaven. The more you cling to this cord, the more I (the Lord) bear the weight of your burdens..."Of course.
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. ~ Romans 12:12 ESVI can rejoice when others weep, because I can rejoice in hope...
- the Lord Who is hope
- His Word
- His steadfast love
- the joy in hope
- in the glory of God
- the hope of heaven
- Christ in you and me
- a living God
- eternal life
The End
