Good morning…
“Sweet dear friend,” she emailed after yesterday’s post, “I’m smiling as I know your family and I can just imagine how fun and light-filled that breakfast was and the jovial conversation which flowed from your son’s prompt.”
“And yet I wonder,” she continued, “how will these examples of near-death experiences “sit” with a community that is still reeling from so much death—tragic death in many cases? And, a world that is being rocked by teenage suicide at Parkland, a father’s suicide at Sandy Hook, and folks struggling with near death but not unharmed.”
Wonder. Tragic death. Being rocked, struggling, not unharmed.
She’s right. Memories erupt all over our daily lives. Some babies never come home from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Some toddlers die from poisoning or are locked inside homes without any rescue. People of all ages suddenly slip off huge boulders and careen down a mountainside. Humans can be deeply cut and bleed to death. Scary strangers in cars do terrible things, automobile accidents and swimming mishaps sometimes steal life. And randomly children are abducted from playgrounds and homes, places of safety. To “sit” with a community that is reeling from tragedy while still thoroughly enjoying my birthday brunch with my family, how is that possible?
“Your blog has been such a place to process and welcome and heal,” she mused, “and certainly laughter and some lightheartedness is needed. Yet I just wonder. And, so, I pray for those reading today and I pray for you and God as you ponder and respond.”
Process. Welcome healing. Pray, ponder, respond.
“These are great thoughts to process with God, my friend,” I replied. “Thanks for the reminder that each coin has two sides. Sitting with the joy side up does our hearts such good, smiling, laughing, sharing bonding memories, but even in those jovial moments the sorrow side rests down beneath. Flipping the coin over to sit with our sorrow side up, in painstaking view, the joy side settles down, sturdy beneath us. We learn to live fully by tasting this truth: joy and sorrow always live on the same coin. Just like each penny, life’s two-side coin reminds: ‘In God We Trust.'”
“I love you,” she concluded her email, “and you are such a gift. And I’m still smiling at the thought of your family and the much-needed freedom from the weight of it all and joy shared at your birthday brunch.”
Remember this month as a time when our sorrow was turned to joy, and celebration took the place of crying. Celebrate by having parties and by giving to the poor and by sharing gifts of food with each other (Ester 9:22b, CEV).
As we taste both sides of life, every day, with one another, God nourishes us all for a beautiful eternity.
…Sue…
