This place, where joy and sadness meet, it's hard. It's hard not to feel guilty in the moments of joy.
But I am learning that with all sadness, there is joy. Sadness brings people together in a different, more vulnerable way. That brokenness, that sadness, allows us to open up to people in new ways that when you are "okay" you wouldn't. Through the trials and the sadness, I am joyful that we are learning more about each other and we are able to lean together towards the cross. We are able to fall, together, to the feet of Jesus. We are able to joyfully trust in what has been promised to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Our Lord.
Tonight, I rejoice that God has blessed me with 26 years of knowing my Uncle Bill. I am joyful in my memories of him. The memories of fresh popcorn, lots of music, comic-section-wrapped Christmas gifts, Chinese food, puzzles, logic games, pumpkin pie, and so many more. I will greatly miss him, and my heart aches that he is no longer here with us. But I find great joy in his memory and I will surely remember the love he had for all of us.
So maybe this place, the place where joy and sadness meet... shouldn't be so hard. I'm learning to embrace it. I'm learning to remember that the hardest things in life allow us to depend on each other and on God more than anything else.
Rest in Peace Uncle Bill, I love you more than you will ever know.
