Hope in the Midst of Sorrow

Last week I was feeling a little sorry for myself but that is nothing compared to the sorrow that I feel for the families touched by the trauma of the Sandy Hook Elementary shootings.  Of course, there are no words that could possibly express the grief that those parents must be experiencing as they watch their lives unraveling before them.

I have been encouraged, as so often is the case, by words published over at Desiring God.  This, in particular, is a wonderful post that points to Jesus in the midst of sorrow.

We are five months into parenthood and there is a great part of me that wants to lock our doors and never leave the house, hoping that will keep us safe.  But it won't.  In fact, it would be most unsafe as we would most likely contract scurvy and in the end succumb to death by bickering and boredom.  So instead, we threw open our lives this weekend and spent time loving our neighbors and cherishing our friends.  We held one another close and our sweet boy even closer.  And we rejoiced.  We rejoice that we serve a God who is big enough for our sorrow.  So big, in fact, that He sent His only Son - a fact that resonates ever deeper now that I have my own son - to bear our sorrow and our grief.  We rejoice in this season that celebrates the gift of His Son, exactly what our hearts needed.  We rejoice that we have this life to use to love others and to point them to Him.  We have so much to be grateful for.

Wishing you peace in this chaotic time, hope in this time of sorrow.