Finding Balance

It is just life. You get pain and sorrow mixed with pleasure and happiness. They come in waves, driven by seasons and circumstances. There is no birth without bloodshed, no death without memories of good times. The trick is finding a balance else you will be completely devastated in the bad times and riding too high in the good times. Mostly its in knowing where to focus - like running a race and focusing on the finish line.

This week has been a mixture of joy and sadness in a way I seldom experience. The sadness of losing Dad, especially in light of his prolonged suffering, coupled with the joy of Christmas, the happiness of my boys as they share the warmth and love of the season with someone special has challenged me to experience fully both ends of life's spectrum.

Its not easy. To know the depths of mourning someone you love one minute and the heights of celebration and gift giving the next seems jarring. Yet the one tempers the other. Although the heights of rejoicing may not have been quite as joyous as in other years, the depths of sadness were not as devastating either.

Perhaps it is remembering other times of difficulties and having come through them to a better place that helps. Perhaps it is remembering other times of exquisite joy that lingers in memory which colors one's outlook. Perhaps it is embracing the time worn adage that "This too shall pass" which allows you a way to endure.

The bottom line for me is knowing that this world is but a blink in light of eternity. As Paul reminds us, the suffering of this present world (and the celebrations) are nothing in comparison with the joy of eternity. Focus on that big picture, and somehow things come into a better perspective, a more handleable mindframe.

This week I have cried and I have cooed. I have mourned and I have celebrated. I have let go and I have embraced. It is good. It is all good. For in the end this present pain shall be exchanged for perpetual joy. And that, my friend, is invaluable.