There it is. My word for 2012 – joy – has popped up again. This time it appeared in Psalm 30:5 and 11 – “Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning…You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy.”
What a promise for those who grieve! What a statement of hope for men and women in pain.
Last night my heart broke when I read my emails. Two women shared stories of losing their husbands recently – one through cancer, and the other through a marriage breakup. Both women are mourning their loss. Their nights are long and lonely, and their days are empty as they seek to make sense of what’s happened and how to embrace life with its new normal.
Joy isn’t part of these women’s vocabulary at this point on their journey. It might be difficult for them to even imagine that it will one day return, but it will. Slowly, slowly the pain will dissipate. Darkness will turn to dawn as God fills their hearts with an ever-increasing peace that passes human understanding. Laughter will live again.
I read these emails and whispered a prayer for these women. A prayer that they will soon be clothed with joy. That each morning will bring renewed hope. That each new day will bring restored faith and confidence in the One who loves them and knows their deepest hurts.
If you’re experiencing a nighttime of the soul, then this is my prayer for you, too. May God ease your pain and fill you with joy. May today put a dance – a joyful dance – into your step. You are loved!
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