I have learned that two things can be true simultaneously.

Joy and sorrow are related!

Mother Nature has taught us that. We experience great storms, and suddenly a rainbow appears.

Childbirth has taught us that. In childbirth, the pain, though unimaginable, produces the joy of a new life.

Yet, on some days, experiencing both joy and grief, success and loss, pain and happiness can lead us to feel guilty and asking why?

Why is this happening? Why now?

Everything was looking up!

Why again?

Our family is experiencing a moment in our extended family that is raising these questions, and we, as people of faith, are holding on to hope. We have witnessed miracle after miracle, and because of that, we choose to hold on to hope. Hope is eternal. Though our faith teaches us that to be absent in our flesh is to be present with God (or something like that)…for those of us left behind, it’s unbearable.

We’d much rather hold on to hope, healing and life.

So as we prepare to walk down the hallway of uncertainty with our loved one…we hold on to hope. We hold on to love. We hold on to each other. We show up. We love and we listen.

Those are the gifts we can give to anyone facing uncertainty.

We’ve been here before. We know how quiet it can get. But we also know what is required of us.

As we move forward, we also acknowledge the joy that lies ahead. The expectancy of outcomes that are hoped for. The completion of a project. The success of a launch. The move to a new home. The opportunity to travel.

I believe God allows two things to be true at the same time so that we do not despair. The sorrow may be great, but the joy that walks with us sustains us.

One carries the other.

That is what I choose to believe.

If you are experiencing a moment of incredible sorrow, unexpected news, loss, illness, etc, find something that brings you joy so that light can overpower the darkness that is assailing you.

It’s how we survive.

Let the light in on your darkness.