Reflections on Easter, Part 2

Ok, so it's over a week after Easter. But I can still reflect on it, right?

One of the joys of reading the Bible is that I can hear the same scripture verses year after year, but hear something different in them. Last year, the Easter story impressed on me the stubborn faith of the women who first discovered the empty tomb. They were brave, and their faith was sure.

This year, I've been mulling over Mary quite a bit - Jesus' mother, Mary. Now, we're not Catholic. We do not pray to Mary. But she is an amazing woman who can teach us all a thing or two about submitting faithfully to God's will for her life. 

Easter Sunday, we heard the Easter story from the book of John. Unlike the rest of the disciples, John was present to witness the crucifixion. With him were some of the women, including Jesus' mother:
²⁵ Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her,“Woman,^[b] here is your son,” ²⁷ and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
(John 19: 25-27, NIV)

The passage was discussed as demonstrating how Jesus thought of his followers up until the very last moment, making sure his mother would be cared for after his death. But what struck me the most was the fact that his mother was there to witness the whole crucifixion.

Most of the disciples ran in fear and avoided having to watch their dear friend suffer in such a cruel way. But not Mary. Not the other women.

I can't imagine watching my own child be tortured and put to death. What a horror. The pain must be unimaginable. My mind flinches from exploring the concept fully.

But this is a mother's love in action. 

When does a child need us the most? When they're in pain - when they're suffering. And it pains us to witness it. We'd do anything to make it go away. Thankfully, most of us only have to endure the occasional childhood sickness and regular rounds of immunizations. Not flogging. Not being nailed to a cross. But Mary was there for him until the end, when most of the others had run away.

The whole episode emphasizes the humanity, the "true man" that Jesus was. He suffered as we do, and he had family that suffered through and with him. I'm not sure I have any more profound conclusions, just a great deal of awe. And thankfulness for the gift that Christ has given us through Easter - the promise that none of us will have to suffer as he did. Even in our families' worst moments, we have the comfort and hope of eternal salvation that can ease our pain. As a mother, I take comfort in knowing that God takes care of me, just as Jesus took care of his mother.

The Holiday Letter I Never Sent

Epiphany Joy to you and your family!

The holiday season is drawing to a close, and BestestHusband is taking down the Christmas tree as we speak. We hope that yours, like ours, has been full of family, friends, quivering hopeful anticipation (“Look, there’s another gift under the tree!”), and celebration. We’ve all eaten too many goodies, enjoyed family traditions, and spent much-needed time with people that we care about.

The 12^th day of Christmas, while now associated with “12 drummers drumming” actually kicks off the traditional celebration of Epiphany, when we celebrate the Magi, or Wise Men, visiting the Christ child. Many think there were 3 wise men, although the Bible never gives them a number. But we do know that they came from very far away, searching for their new king.

The story of the Magi in the book of Matthew is one that describes a “leap of faith”. They saw a star that was supposed to foretell the birth of a great king. They followed that star until they found him. What a leap of faith! They had no confirmation that the king was really there. There was nobody on Facebook to “like” the prophecy of the star. How were they sure that this was THE star at THE right time? The travel itinerary was a bit uncertain. “Follow a star.” They had no confirmed flights, no travel insurance in case of sandstorm. The travel was dangerous. No state troopers were around to keep bandits off the road. There was no AAA to call in case a camel broke a leg. There were tricky politics involved. Herod wanted to use them as spies in order to assassinate the newborn king. Yet they followed that star until they found him, and even though they found him in humble circumstances, they worshiped him as king, and lavished him with exotic gifts.

As we look forward to 2013, it’s likely that we too will face many decisions requiring a leap of faith. This will be the year that HeyMama starts school, and in Boston, that involves a lottery process, or perhaps even the beginning of private school. Where HeyMama goes to school will affect where MeToo goes to preschool. That will affect where and when Joy works, and could hasten career changes. This could affect if we stay where we live, or look for greener yards elsewhere. The stock market could impact BestestHusband’s job, and whether or not we can afford greener yards elsewhere. There is much that is uncertain. But thanks to Christmas, there is much that we can count on. We place our faith in a God that loves us enough to send his Son to us in human form to save us from our sinful nature. The daily events and conditions of our lives will change, but our faith can rest on the unwavering love of Christ. And with that in mind, we can take our leaps of faith, with a calm confidence in our future.

We pray that your 2013 is full of peace, love, and joy. We pray that your leaps of faith this year are as richly rewarded as the Magi’s were.

With love,

BestestHusband, Joy, HeyMama, and MeToo

The World Is Very Evil

BestestHusband loves the old version of a hymn, The World is Very Evil. It's quite old in origin, written by Bernard of Morlaix in the 12th century. It's a longish hymn, so I'll just grace you with the first verse:

The world is very evil,
the times are waxing late,
be sober and keep vigil,
the Judge is at the gate.
The Judge who comes in mercy,
the Judge who comes in might,
who comes to end the evil,
who comes to crown the right.

The hymn speaks of the end times, encouraging Christians to keep their eyes on the joys of a future heavenly home.

I think BestestHusband mostly likes the hymn for its dire-sounding title. The beginning of the first verse does sound pretty dark and grim. It seems appropriate this week. Our newspapers here are talking about a local child molester facing over 100 counts of abuse, and our eyes are all still moist from the horrible massacre that happened in Newtown, CT yesterday. When you look at recent events, it does appear that the world is very evil. 

My Facebook and email streams have been flooded with appeals to join in on banning guns. Because banning guns will prevent the mass-murder of innocents that occurred yesterday. But certainly we all know that this is just an attempt to do SOMETHING, ANYTHING, to try to salve our fear and helplessness. The child molester didn't need guns to be evil. A few years back, there was a series of machete attacks in Boston. There was plenty of evil and horror to go around without guns. (Didn't hear about those attacks? There are no pro-machete or anti-machete lobbyists that I know of; I suspect that this is a factor in why you didn't hear about these attacks. And I would much rather be killed by bullets  than hacked to death by a machete.)

Evil is everywhere. In various forms. Yesterday, it surfaced in an elementary school in a picturesque New England town. But it can, and will, surface anywhere.

Details about the killer are starting to surface. He is being described as a very troubled young man - possibly with a personality disorder, possibly as autistic. It will likely take a while to figure out the whole story. 

My friend Jenny once gave me a copy of Columbine, by Dave Cullen. It's a recounting of the horrible Columbine High School massacre in 1999. It tells a story different from what we heard on the news immediately after the attack. In reality, the murders had nothing to do with Goths bullied by Jocks, as I had remembered hearing. The two boys had plenty of friends, and there was no rivalry with other cliques. The perpetrators had significant psychiatric issues. One was a full-blown psychopath, the other just a depressed follower. They actually planned on killing most of their schoolmates with bombs that they had intended to level the school. The guns they carried were simply a back-up plan. Thankfully the bombs were duds. The evil they prepared didn't depend on guns.  The evil was beyond our understanding, and beyond our ability to predict and prevent. 

One part of the story really stuck me, talking about the parents of the murderers. It's no doubt that they suffered horribly, both as parents burying their children, and as parents watching other parents bury their children because of the horrors their own offspring had committed. They weren't bad parents. But they did have damaged kids, for reasons they couldn't control. The story that marked itself upon my heart was the story of the role of a pastor. The local Lutheran pastor (yes, this is likely why it caught my eye) was reminded by a parishioner that the murderer's family had once attended the church, and would likely need some support, as their community was raging against them. And so the pastor reached out to them. 

As Christians, we know that the world is very evil. And we know that we are all sinners, and that all sins, great or small, need forgiveness. And while we feel that our transgressions are certainly miniscule in comparison to the horror that was perpetrated yesterday, we all crave grace. We all crave forgiveness. I've read many horrible things said by people about the family of Friday's shooter. And they break my heart. Because certainly the Lanza family is already heartbroken. Both by their own losses, and by the horror of having a loved one be the bringer of such evil. 

The Lutheran connection caught my eye again yesterday, as I learned that one of the victims belonged to a church in our district. We consider those in our church to be part of our extended family. We feel their joys and pains as we do with our own biological family. And our church family has lost children in the past. But we have the comfort of hope, promised by a merciful God, that He will triumph over evil in the end. This early "goodbye" is not an eternal farewell. We believe that the second-grader killed yesterday is now waiting to greet her parents in their heavenly home. And while this can't erase the grief we're all feeling right now, it does provide a healing hope. 

"Security",
http://www.bowman-art.com/indexFineart.htm

The lyrics of The World Is Very Evil point to this hope:
The Judge who comes in mercy,
the Judge who comes in might,
who comes to end the evil,
who comes to crown the right.

We cannot end the evil, no matter how we try. But God can, and will. And we can set our eyes on that day. Because we know that more evil will befall us in our lives, and more horrors will call out our tears. But we can place our hope in a God who is greater than those horrors, who will wipe away all of our tears. 

Please find a place in your heart to pray for the killer's family. I'm certain they need a big dose of grace right now.

Jesus Is Not a Republican

Jesus is not a Republican. 

From shuckandjive.org

Jesus is not a Democrat, either. 

Being a good Christian doesn't mean you have to vote for Republicans. Similarly, being a good Christian doesn't mean you have to vote for Democrats. Neither party holds the title of espousing more of God's commands. Of course, if you belong to one of the parties, I'm sure you see your party as being closer to God. I'm sure you could give me 3 good reasons that you believe it to be true. Maybe even 5 reasons. Of course, someone on the other side of the aisle could give 3-5 good reasons why THEIR party is closer to God. 

Let me see if I can guess the lists...

Jesus is a Republican because:

• He described marriage as a union between a man and a woman that is a demonstration of the relationship between Christ and his church. Therefore American marriages should only be between a man and a woman.
• Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me" and would oppose abortion.
• He prayed in public regularly, and would want to keep prayer in schools.
• Opposing abortion, Jesus would not support a national health care system that guaranteed abortions to women who wanted them.

Jesus is a Democrat because:

• Jesus told the rich man to sell all he had and give it to the poor. Higher taxes for the rich would be a no-brainer.
• He tells us to love our neighbor, even if they are different from us (Like Samaritans. Or any other social group that we look down upon.)
• Jesus fed thousands that had no food. He would love to expand the food stamp program even further.
• He healed the sick wherever he went. He would want us to guarantee healthcare to anyone who needed it.
• He showed compassion to criminals, and would oppose the death penalty.

I'm sure I left many items off the list. And I know I'm not going to convince anyone here that Jesus is actually rooting for the other team.

From theblaze.com

We live in a sinful world. We are sinners. There is no right side to choose, as far as Jesus is concerned. We will have to make compromises on our beliefs and cast a vote. Jesus said "Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God." It is our duty to participate in local and national politics. That is what our responsible citizenship requires, along with paying taxes and following our laws. But Jesus also told the parable of the 3 servants. The master gave each servant an amount of money to care for in his absence. Two of the servants invested the money wisely, and gave their master back even-larger sums upon his return. The master was pleased with their stewardship. The third servant buried the money in the ground until his master returned. He told his master that he was afraid of displeasing his master by losing it, and chose to not choose. He just sat on the money instead of making the most of it. He was not a good steward of his resources. We too are called to be good stewards of our American freedoms, of our ability to vote. God gives us reason and conscience to decide the best way to use that gift. If you feel that you are called to vote for one man because he'll do a better job with your vote, then vote for him. 

Martin Luther (the Reformation guy, not the civil rights guy) spoke about Christians living in two kingdoms. There is the Kingdom of the Left that we pay taxes to, follow the rules of, and elect leaders to. It is the kingdom of our temporal lives. The lives that involve jobs, traffic jams, and PTA meetings. A kingdom ruled by law. Laws that are made to keep us safe in our homes as we sleep at night. And there is the kingdom of our Creator, the Kingdom of the Right, that is ruled by grace. It is the kingdom of the gospel, with a structure different from our earthly kingdom. In it we seek God's will, not out of fear for breaking the rules, but in thankful response to our salvation in Christ. It is the kingdom of our eternal lives. 

Christians live in both kingdoms. We have obligations and callings in our temporal lives, but must always prioritize our eternal lives. To haphazardly mix the two and say that Jesus sides with one of our flawed political parties does nothing but debase our savior and aggrandize a group of people who make a living out of trying to become more powerful. 

From sodahead.com

So let's keep it all in context, folks. 

Jesus wants us to be good stewards of our blessings:  freedom, knowledge, wisdom, food, shelter, and money. Pray that you can cast a vote that does this, and stop labeling the other side as evil.

Confession of Faith: Part I

I had an interesting opportunity recently to do an uncommon confession of faith. Well, uncommon because it was out of church. I confess my faith every Sunday in church. But I was being challenged by someone to confess what I believe in contrast to what she believed. In some ways, perhaps I’m a bad Christian for not doing this more often. I’m not very good at giving myself opportunities to talk about my faith with people who disagree with me. It’s most common in this part of the country to NOT talk about your faith with people who might disagree with you. Politeness? Aversion to conflict? I’m not sure why. But regardless, I’m not spending most mornings on my front stoop trying to convince someone of why she should stop trying to convert me.

I have to give the two Jehovah’s Witness missionaries some credit. It was a cold and rainy Saturday morning. They have been to our house many times. BestestHusband made the mistake(?) of inviting them in to debate theology a few months back. He’s good at pulling out the Bible and pointing out exactly WHY he disagrees with their teaching. In fact, while I was talking to them at the front door, he was in the back room getting the Bible ready. So they stopped coming for him. They started coming for me. The first time, I took their pamphlet politely and excused myself to attend to the kids. Then I thought a bit about what I would say to them the next time they came.

Now, I understand that people tend to think that their church or denomination is the best way to worship God. It’s a natural thing. I grew up in the Lutheran church, derive joy from worshiping with the Lutheran liturgy, and continue to grow in my understanding of the “whys” of our theology. But I would never argue that "Lutherans can go to Heaven, but those Methodists are just screwed." I don’t need to "convert" other Christians. Even if I don’t agree with the finer points of their theology, they confess a faith in the same God as me, and honestly, I seriously doubt that ANY denomination is absolutely correct about every detail of our understanding of God and His will for us. Our God is just too great, His ways are not our ways, and any assertion of anyone that THEY know what God REALLY means seems like folly to me.

So if someone comes to my door with a Bible in their hand and tries to convert me, I’m automatically suspicious. They already know that we are Christian. For pete’s sake, BestestHusband pulled out a Bible and read it to them. I’ve told them that we attend church, read the Bible, and even teach Sunday School. Now, I know that doing these things does not guarantee a strong faith in God. But it should convince someone that I might have a few strongly-held opinions on my faith. And perhaps their missionary energies might be better spent on someone who hasn’t heard the Gospels, and doesn’t profess a faith in Christ. Bottom line:  If you’re trying to use the Bible I already read to “convert” me to your religion, don’t bother. We don’t share an understanding of the Great Commission. We don't share an understanding of who Jesus really is. I don’t want to go to your church. Please go try to convert someone else.

While I won’t be sending any money to the JW Missionary Society, I can’t deny that perhaps their act of placing a Bible in someone’s hands will lead to the salvation of someone that wouldn’t happen otherwise. The Word is powerful enough to do that, even if the people placing it in your hands ignore certain parts of it. But that scenario does not apply to our household. We’ve tried to make that clear.

I attempted several times to close the conversation nicely and send them away. They were impressively persistent. “Do you think that God meant for us to live in a world that is the way it is now?” She was referring to all of the world’s ills:  poverty, war, disease, crime, etc. She referred back to Adam and Eve. I stated my opinion on sin, its influence on the world, and my belief that it is a force that only God can finally conquer in the end days. I talked about the kingdoms of the left and right, and our place in both. She changed tactics. “What about your goals for the future?” My response was along the lines of, “Well, our ULTIMATE goal is an eternity with God.” Her eyes bugged out a bit at this response. She was looking for earthly goals. Ones that could be affected by the ills of the world. Ones that would need the version of religion she was trying to sell. I didn’t give her what she was looking for. It did give me two things:  a chance to compliment their tenacity and comment on how ripe the mission field in Boston is for passionate women like themselves, and the prompt to think about what my goals are for my family, especially given my views on the kingdoms of the left and the right.

So I sent them on their way. And started musing about what my family goals really are…

Meet My Mum

I'd like you to meet my Mum. She's a lovely lady. This is her 34th Mother's Day. 


And to celebrate, I'd like to share some fun facts about her from my childhood.

• Though usually disguised as a well-mannered and reserved Pastor's wife, she has a wicked silly streak.
• Growing up, she was the prettiest mom in our church. And we went to a big church. 
• She taught me to chair-dance at the dinner table, bopping my head around while staying in my seat.
• Earlier in my life, she showed me how to live a life of volunteering, rarely saying "No" to anything.
• Later in my life, she showed me that knowing how to say "No" is just as important as knowing how to say "Yes".
• She showed me how to take strong feelings and speak them in gentle words. 
• She showed me how to wear bold colors. And tasteful makeup.
• She taught me about Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, the wonder seasoning that works wonders.
• She taught me to make pie. I think I was 4...
• She showed me that even if you don't like being the center of attention, sometimes you just suck it up and speak in public. 
• She showed me the importance of prayer. And Faith. And Hope. And Grace.
• She told me that emotions are just emotions. We can't control or change them. But actions, that's what we can control and change.
• She showed me that patience is a virtue. (Unfortunately, she never taught me the secret to being patient...)
• She showed me what living in a clean and organized house was like. (Never mind that I've forgotten...)
• She showed me that making something can be the best part about having something. (BestestHusband, the craft supplies in the spare bedroom are all her fault...)
• She told me that holding myself to my own values and goals was far better than living up to someone else's. Besides, my goals were harder anyway.
• She gave me space to let my imagination wander. 
• She gave me time to learn to entertain myself. 
• She taught me to play car games, looking for letters in highway signs and funny billboards. We went on a lot of car trips. 
• She taught me to sing at any time. Make up a song, if needed.
• She encouraged my interests. 
• She told me that "sometimes, you just need a good cry."
• She gave lots of hugs. 
• She demonstrated what joy looks like.

Nowadays, she lives a time zone away. A long flight + a long drive, or a long flight + a long layover + a short flight away. It's much much too far. And I miss her.


Happy Mother's Day, Mum!

Stewardship Sunday: Easter Edition

Happy Easter!
He is risen! He is risen indeed!

Holy Week is a reminder that I will have to admit failure every week. No matter what I do. No matter how hard I try. I will never live up to Jesus' example of patience. I will never live up to Jesus' example of service. I will never be righteous, no matter how hard I try. I can focus on doing better every week of my life, but the struggle will never end while I walk this Earth.

But then Easter happened. A Savior was willing to take the punishment for our imperfection. Our weakness. Our inability to achieve our own righteousness. Easter is about Grace. Easter is about Joy (the emotion, not my friend who just had a baby boy 2 days ago - congrats Joy!) Easter technically makes this blog unnecessary.

I don't NEED to be better. I mean, I would like to be. But I don't need to be. I WANT to be. Grace and Joy are powerful motivators.

So I'm ditching the stewardship check-in for this week. I'll just report on the Joy from this week.

Joy the friend had a baby boy. He's doing well. She's doing well. What joy!

The other joys of this week:

• I got a massage that helped my back pain.
• I rearranged the girls' room and put their beds together. It's pretty cute.
• Flat Stanley came to visit, went to Amsterdam with BestestHusband, had great adventures, then headed to the Middle East to fly planes with other extended family members.
• BestestHusband came back from Amsterdam safely and a little early. My mother-in-law met him there and came home with him to join us for Easter.
• I had my father-in-law around for the entire week to help out.
• We took two family naps that helped even non-napping HeyMama take much-needed naps.
• I spent an hour sleeping with MeToo while she sucked her paci in my face and twisted her fingers in my hair. Priceless.
• Our family enjoyed a joy-filled Easter service with incredible music.
• Our family and church family enjoyed a delicious brunch feast together.
• Our family and friends enjoyed an unparalleled Easter lunch/dinner/all-day feast with lots of wine and revelry. And a crazy-potent cocktail.
• Our family and friends got to spend several happy hours together chatting and watching the kids play together.
• During all of the revelry, only one kid peed on the rug and only one kid had a poop explosion that required borrowing clean clothes.
• Only one of those kids is related to me.
• And tonight has back-to-back episodes of GCB!

The week was full of joys, small and large. There was a great deal of preparation that led up to this weekend. But in the quiet moments, we think of a little boy that we hoped could be born this week. But was instead buried many weeks ago. And we look forward to a promised joyful reunion. And remember that this is what Easter is really all about.

A cross that church-goers covered in flowers as they walked into Easter services. 

The girls can now sleep together under their coordinated quilts. (Thanks Miss Bev!)

Jet-setting Flat Stanley in his brief Boston layover. 

The Change of Seasons

Today marks a changing of the church seasons - we go from celebrating Christmas and Epiphany to preparing for Easter. Despite the lengthening days, Lent is a dark season. It's a time to reflect on and mourn the evil parts of our nature and an inescapable death, and ready ourselves for the joy of knowing forgiveness and everlasting life. 


Many people prepare by giving something up. Like chocolate. Or wine. Or Facebook. Our church encourages people to take something on:  volunteering, giving a gift, adopting a new habit that changes our daily routine and helps to set aside this season as unique.


Historically, I've given up chocolate. That was always hard. But I find the taking on to be much harder. It makes you give more of yourself. I'm still searching for what I'll take on. I have a few ideas, but am waiting for inspiration to help me choose.


To all who celebrate this changing of the seasons, I pray you'll find these upcoming weeks to be fulfilling.

Sorting Through Everything Left Behind

So Day 6 of vacation brought more fun and conversations surrounding death. This is turning out to be a rather morbid vacation... We took the girls to a ceramic painting place. We shopped for cowgirl boots. Then Mum and I opened the back guest house to look through the remainder of my grandparents' belongings. Both of my grandparents died within the last 2 years. They were people who lived good lives, model bedrock citizens. They lived humble and frugal lives. They could have afforded to live more lavishly, but chose to give their money away. So the belongings left behind were of minimal monetary value, and it was my Mum's job to take care of them. 

I took on the task of going through Grandma's jewelery box. It was a large jewelery box, practically overflowing. There were a few rings of small value (alas, her wedding ring had been STOLEN in the nursing home... sigh...), some silver necklaces and pendants, and lots of costumey pins. Most everything was given as a gift. Or earned unintentionally. 

One of the noteworthy accomplishments of my grandparents' lives was that they always seemed to be giving away their time. They volunteered for a long list of organizations, according to what they could physically do at the time. In the years that I knew them, they helped out at a local state park, volunteered at multiple hospitals, and constantly took on various roles at their church. They volunteered well into their 80's, after cancer, strokes, and hip replacements. They took on mostly menial roles. While they had the skills to lead big fundraising campaigns, they instead cleaned park trails and bathrooms, led children on nature hikes, and visited patients in their local hospitals. They cooked countless meals and goodies for the sick and home-bound in their community. And towards the end, they served as substitute grandparents to all of the immigrant children that had moved into their neighborhood. And these were just the years that I knew them. I know the list could be much longer if I started earlier in their lives.

The jewelery box contained a large number of pins that commemorated their tireless service. They said things like "40 years", "20 years", "1000 hours". And many more just acknowledged their active participation in various volunteer groups. That is a serious commitment to service.

The objects left behind have little retail value. They will be sold for a pittance at a yard sale with the hope that they can make someone else happy in a new home. But they tell the story of two people that left a legacy. A legacy of a model life. A life buoyed by a strong Faith that gave them Hope in the dark days, kept them open to the wonder of Grace, and allowed them to celebrate Joy wherever they could find it. And this legacy is better than any family fortune, better than heirloom silver, better than anything that would allow us to pay off our horrific Boston mortgage (although I wouldn't complain if that came along too...)

And this is the legacy we can pass along to our girls. Stories of their great-grandparents, and an attempt to live the life that they did. Grandma once told me, "If you're not helping someone else, you're wasting your time." Yeah, I could spend the rest of my life trying to live up to that...

To everyone who lost family this past year (or past month), I pray that you too can find peace in the things your loved one left behind.

Faith, Grace, Hope, and Joy

Faith, Grace, Hope, and Joy. 

Not only are they names commonly used for pastor’s daughters, they are incredible concepts when the realities of life come crashing in.

While I was grousing about having a swollen finger and single-handedly wrangling two little girls who can’t. stop. talking., dear friends of ours were traveling back to be with their family to bury their youngest child.

Yes, I said bury their youngest child.

A child tiny enough to fit in the palm of your hand. A child long-awaited and much cherished. My heart breaks again for them as I write this.

I was talking to someone the other day who had done the same thing in the past. She’s buried her mother, her father, and her sister, but says burying a child is the most painful thing she’s ever endured.

This is where Faith, Grace, Hope, and Joy become so important in life.

Both friends who lost children truly believe that “all things work together for good for those who love God.”* Their strong Faith in God is their lifeboat in the storms of life. Where Faith carries you, Grace is already there. And Grace begets Hope. And where there is Hope, you can soon find Joy.

Our recent winter weather strikes me as an excellent illustration of the days of Joy and sorrow. Boston’s weeks of gray skies and snowstorms are punctuated by days of brilliant sunshine and crystalline blue skies. After slogging through days of cold dreariness, your heart and whole being involuntarily lift a bit when the sun bursts through.

So to all of my friends who are slogging through days of slush and darkness, I pray you will have a buoyant Faith, bountiful Grace, greater Hope, and more easily-discovered Joy.

*Romans 8:28