11. AN ADVENT AMONG OTHER THINGS: JOY WITHIN HEARTACHE

Wednesday, December 18th

With all of the joys of the Advent and Christmas season, most every one of us will also have tender moments of heartache as we miss our dear ones who have gone on to eternal joy. We will hold an ache that is both sore and sweet, for our loss feels great because of the joy we once shared. We will fondly remember and treasure the joy-filled moments, but we will wish we could have more of those moments. In these bittersweet days, we might be comforted by these words from Helen Keller:

What we have once enjoyed deeply we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us. ~ Helen Keller

Her words are so true. When I come across a photo of my cousin Sharon, I always smile–and sometimes chuckle–at the memories of her with my sister and me. I like to think that several qualities and quirks in my character come from my dad. As I age, I hold a vision of my gentle grandmother as I seek to become an elder of quiet wisdom. All the people who once brought such joy continue to do so as I remember and try to emulate them in some way.

During our worship service on Sunday, we sang The Lord’s Prayer, and I became emotional at the words, “for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.” My deepest joy is found in our faith that helps us see life as a continuum of eternity. The departed saints are with us still, in silent but profound ways. God, who is timeless has made all of creation to remain present and intertwined in some way forever. Joy arises when we can remember that there is only a thin wall between here and “just beyond here.”

And this eternal beyond is filled with joy. Our loved ones have been received with great joy… and one day, so will we. In this, we can feel such sweet comfort and joy even within our heartache.

GONE FROM MY SIGHT
Henry Van Dyke

I am standing upon the seashore. A ship, at my side,
spreads her white sails to the moving breeze and starts
for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength.
I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speck
of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.

Then, someone at my side says, “There, she is gone.”

Gone where?

Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast,
hull and spar as she was when she left my side.
And, she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.

Her diminished size is in me — not in her.

And, just at the moment when someone says, “There, she is gone,”
there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices
ready to take up the glad shout, “Here she comes!”

And that is dying…

(Photo by Karen, Bar Harbor, ME)