"Whom having not seen, you love; in
whom, though now you see him not,
yet
believing,
you rejoice with joy unspeakable and
full of glory..."
1 Peter 1:8
A scripture about joy may not be the most common one you think of
when someone you love passes away. Yet this very verse washed over me as I
knelt beside my once vibrant-feisty sister mere minutes after she breathed her
last here on earth.
My brave 29-year old sister fought to
remain on this earth to raise the little boy we dubbed “Miracle Michael” four
years prior when he entered the world prematurely via cesarean section. Her
doctors announced she could no longer hold off treating the enormous cancerous
tumor growing along with her pregnant belly, nearly matching it in size. Once
her little angel arrived they whisked her into surgery to remove the tumor once
believed to have been a blood clot. Grueling chemo and radiation treatments quickly
began, consuming her life and ravaging her body.
The night we gathered together as a family to celebrate the
milestone event of her 'two-years free of cancer', our parents delivered the
news; our dear dad diagnosed with the very same dreaded disease. He passed away
six short weeks later, at the young age of 49.
My tenacious sister went on to raise that rambunctious little boy. Never failing to proclaim the message of Christ and the joy of the Lord. When the little guy turned three years old she began experiencing serious symptoms, the cancer returned with a vengeance. Surgeries and intense treatments flipped her life upside down all over again. Her faith remained rock-solid believing with everything in her that she would be healed.
Yet God’s plans are
far more than our minds comprehend.
One hot summer night she breathed her last breath only feet from
where her little guy slept.
No one wanted her
miracle to be this; we all wanted her to be healed on this side of heaven. God’s
plans were otherwise. Knowing His plans and ways are far greater than ours
remained our comfort.
Overcome, I knelt beside my bald sister who once sported unruly
long-blond-hair. The song and verse she often quoted rang in my ears; "It
is joy unspeakable and full of glory.” It felt strange to have that
particular song playing in my mind at a time like this. However, the sweet gift
of that message swept over me immediately. I felt as if she was right there saying to me;
'Oh sister, you would not believe it here, it is JOY UNSPEAKABLE AND FULL OF
GLORY, you don't know the half of it.'
As this message invaded my soul I quickly recalled hearing the
very same from my dad. The night before
he went to heaven God showed him an exquisite glimpse of streets of gold and
colors brilliant beyond description.
The message seems clear, yet on this of side of heaven so difficult
to comprehend and accept. In heaven we have no grief, we know no sorrow, in
heaven we only know JOY. The depth of joy we have yet to experience. We are
given glimpses of such joy when holding a newborn baby in our arms or marrying
the one we love. We feel this pleasure when we have a good ole belly laugh or
feel the fresh ocean breezes wash over us. I feel it when I am in the depth of the
forest of pine trees high in the mountains.
These are glimpses of the real joy that’s yet to come, the bliss
that we have yet to experience. The joy that’s unspeakable and full of glory.
I realize that our greatest lessons in life often come during times of searing pain.
New York Times Best Selling author Margaret Feinberg writes about the lessons she learned while going through the trial
of a lifetime.
From the moment Margaret received her diagnosis she committed to
fighting through the battle of breast cancer with joy. Knowing this attitude
would make all the difference in the way she survived and overcame her battle.
She bravely shares about her courageous journey in her newly released book "Fighting
Back with Joy.” She also wrote a corresponding Bible study which will
assist in the lessons of growth in finding joy in the mundane as well as the
tragic. Bringing our lessons into perspective as we grow in our own
relationship with God is imperative as we progress on our journey. I am just finishing up the book and I'm anxious
to dig into this wise woman’s treasure trove of lessons in the corresponding Bible Study.
Every day I live I am reminded I must be intentional about
finding joy.
Embracing joy unspeakable amongst the tragedies as well as the
sublime is a choice. Battles in life are
inevitable, but how we fight them remains one of the most important choices we
face.
Like Margaret, I choose JOY.
Then jump over to these links to pick up the book: http://mar.cta.gs/0bi or Barnes
and Noble at http://mar.cta.gs/0bh
