Joy & Sorrow

A week ago today I was sitting in a classroom, subbing for an energetic group of eighth graders, when I got the news that I had been wishing wouldn’t come.  It was near the end of the day and almost time to dismiss.  My phone started dinging as message after message popped up.  I glanced down and saw the words telling me that my friend Traci was with Jesus.  

This dear friend of mine had spent the last couple of years battling a rare cancer that was attacking her whole body.  And while we knew this news was coming, it came faster than we expected.  

My friend loved Jesus fiercely.  She would tell you that these last few years were hard, but she would also tell you that she encountered God in ways she never had before.  She would tell you of her suffering, but she would also tell you of God’s goodness and grace.  She would share vulnerably about what she was facing, but she would also share the ways she was at peace. 

In these past few years, I have learned a lot from my friend about what it looks like to make space for joy and sorrow, because in this life there is a mixture of both.  

There is a sorrow that comes as we say goodbye to the ones we love.  There is a sadness in not being able to sit with that person one more time, in not being able to have one more conversation, and in not being able to tell one more story.  There is a grief that comes when we think of continuing on without those that have been main characters in our story.  

And yet there is also joy.  There is joy as we remember the life of the one we’ve lost.  There is joy as we hold onto the hope of resurrection.  There is joy as we tell stories and laugh together.  There is joy as we look around and see that we are not alone.  

I miss my friend, and I’m glad she is no longer in pain.  Joy and sorrow- both are true. May we remember that Jesus is with us through all of it - weeping with us in the sorrow and rejoicing with us when the joy comes.  

~  Melissa