Sadness v. HappinessI

Today I talked to my long time dear friend Rhonda and she told me one of our friends died and was buried yesterday. She was only 62 years old. A glaze of sadness covered my heart when I heard the news. I hadn't seen Karen in years, but I pictured her as the 30 something blonde haired blue eyed girl with a wonderful smile and upbeat attitude. As the years passed, she had had her share of ups and downs. She recovered from alcoholism, a divorce and hard struggles, to a life of happiness and peace. Sober 17 years and a house full of grand babies, she learned she had pancreatic cancer. A disease her mother died from just a year earlier. Karen lived only a short time from this disease and died at peace at home with 2 of her boys.

     Happiness filled my heart with a thought that she was no longer in pain and that the worries of this world were over for her. After I hung up the phone with Rhonda, I thought how alike 2 extreme emotions can be. Especially with death. Sadness at the loss and happiness at the freedom....The mixture of both tugged at my brain till I realized that you just can't have 1 without the other. In every situation whether it be a child graduating from school or the marriage of that child to another human that will take your place and then ultimately the death of that child. How I feel sorrow for that person leaving this earth and their loved ones but what joy for their release from the world's woes.

     My heart goes out for those left behind. Those that cannot release them to a better world. Trust me when I say, I pray I never have to bury any of my children. Oh! How I would miss them dearly. The same sentiment goes for the child who has to bury their parents. But it is ineffable to say that it will come, one way or another.

     I pray that God will take me when I'm ready. That is asking a lot. He would have not said so many times that "the thief comes when we least expect it", if He didn't want us to be ready. 

     God was so sad that Eden got spoiled by his creatures that he sent his only Son to gain the happiness back. He was so sad that his Son had to be cruelly killed, but is ultimately happy that the gates could be reopened. The sadness of 10 sinners can be overcome with the happiness of one that is repentant and converted.

     Sadness and Happiness. I think they go hand in hand, and if we look for the joy and peace in our sorrow, our hearts WILL be filled with joy.... and contentment.