Straddling Joy and Sorrow

Our families participated once again in the Joni and Friends family retreat, where we always make new friends and reconnect with what is really real in human experience. The theme of this year's retreat was Joy, and we emphasized in our teaching that in this life joy is always interlaced with sorrow. Each defines the other, but the boundaries remain constantly in flux.

Each participant wrote words on one mask describing joy and on another describing sorrow. Their identities remained private, but the masks were posted on a wall of tears and laughter. Doctors' diagnoses, financial circumstances, and church experiences populated both kinds of masks, sometimes in the same hand. Neither mask could tell the whole story.

Richard, pictured here with his friend and attendant, Tony, and his wonderdog, Troy Aikman, understands the straddle between joy and sorrow. During the singing of a closing song of praise, Richard shook with tears. Two young boys looked his direction. One asked, "Do you think that man is crying because he is sad? Or is it because he likes the song and is happy?"

The other boy thought a moment and replied, "Yeah."

"With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord: ‘He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever.’ And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. No one could distinguish the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away" (Ezra 3:11-13).