When we are living with great heartache, it’s difficult to imagine ever feeling happy again. Suffering takes our life over, and we’re tempted to wrap it around like a blanket to protect us from being hurt even more.
This passage in Psalm 126 (echoed in Matthew 21) speaks of two realities of life: sorrow and hope. Someone is weeping, yet they go out to plant a new crop so that people will have something to eat in the future.
We do not get over our losses by dwelling on them. We don’t get over our tragedies by ignoring them or saying that they don’t matter. They do matter because they are part of our life, and not to remember is to turn our back on ourselves and the people who helped us survive those events.
The person in the psalm did not stay on the couch and stew on what was gone, letting sorrow disable their life. They set the bag of potato chips down, got up, went out, and planted seeds so that life could continue. They did not wait until they felt happy again. They did not let the past dissolve their future away. They believed that the bite of sorrow would fade if they did something positive.
When I was going through six weeks of daily radiation to deal with cancer with a number of other people, we wondered if the treatments would get rid of all the cancer, or if we might still die. We struggled with the direct effects of the radiation on our bodies as well as its aftereffects. What helped us get through our uncertainty and doubts was the fellowship we formed with each other. We were hurting and scared, but at the beginning of each session, we would ask each other, “How is your day going?” Then we would listen, and find a way of offering support.
John Muir said, “the darkest scriptures of the mountains are illumined with bright passages of love….”
Joy does not cease to exist when we get knocked down, are depressed, or feel so lost that we don’t know which way to turn. Joy remains all around us, waiting for us to notice. Yet, it is difficult to see the light of joy when we are living in the dark place of grief. The reality of life is that every day there will be something to mourn, but there will also be something to celebrate.
Sorrows that we carry deep within us do not go away, but neither does hope, faith, or love, and they help us endure. What we choose to do each day matters because each day is a new day of possibilities. Believe in the power of hope.
Blessed are those who mourn and go out to help others, for they know the need for compassion, and they understand that this is the way of living our faith.
Care for each other, my sisters and brothers, today and forever.
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