Everlasting Joy

Sorrow is one of those things that are lent, not given.
A thing that is lent may be taken away;
a thing that is given is not taken away.
Joy is given;
sorrow is lent.
We are not our own, 
we are bought with a price...
[Our sorrow] is lent us for just a little while
that we may use it for eternal purposes.
Then it will be taken away
and everlasting joy will be 
our Father's gift to us, 
and the Lord God will wipe away 
all the tears from off all faces.


-Amy Carmichael

This was taken from the book, I Will Carry You; A Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy, written by Angie Smith.  It was a book that carried me through the days after losing Elliott.  It is a wonderful story written by a Christian woman of her journey through losing a child of her own.  She interwove scripture throughout the entire book, while never once holding back her truest emotions that she experienced in the darkest days.  This book gave me a new perspective on life and helped me refocus my thoughts on God through my journey of loss.

I referred back to this book last night when I got home from my family's Christmas.  The emotions of losing Elliott were intense and I just needed a source of comfort.  I read many of the Bible verses throughout the book and then came across the above quote from Amy Carmichael.  "Then it (sorrow) will be taken away and everlasting joy will be our Father's gift to us".  Last night I just continued to reflect on this line.  Everlasting joy.  Everlasting joy.  It isn't attainable in this world, but there is a promise of it and for that my hope is kept alive.  As the grief of losing Elliott just crept up on me last night and the tears ran down my cheeks I couldn't help but smile at the thought of the last line in this excerpt, "the Lord God will wipe away all the tears from off all faces".  Thank you Lord.  Thank you.