Joyful in the Spirit, Grieved in the Flesh

How wonderful a life I live that I get to snuggle and nurse one baby to sleep then crawl back in bed and snuggle another. How wonderful a life I live to get to be awake in the late hours of the night and the early hours of the morning, providing nourishment and safety. How wonderful a life I live to get to explore the wonders of life and the questions of a toddler. He most certainly stretches my mind and heart daily!


It is also a wonderful life to live, knowing I already have 2 saints in Heaven, praising our Father face to face. Grief comes in waves for everyone, including us who have lost two of our babies early on. Sometimes, I see their certificates of life hanging on the wall and it doesn’t hurt quite so much. Other times, little things remind me of the short time we had with them in my womb. Each time, I am reminded of God’s faithfulness. I am reminded of His goodness and mercy. I am reminded that He used their short, little lives to preach a mustard seed faith.


When Martin Luther’s teenage daughter, Magdalena, died, he was heartbroken. But he explained the simultaneous grief and joy eloquently, saying: “I am joyful in spirit but I am sad according to the flesh. The flesh doesn’t take kindly to this. The separation troubles me above measure. It’s strange to know that she is surely at peace and that she is well off there, very well off, and yet to grieve so much!”


There is deep grief in this world. Grieving and sad hearts I cannot even begin to imagine. Many in our lives have lost sons, daughters, friends, parents, and grandparents…the stories they have in their grief are profound. The story God is weaving through them is even more so.


If you are grieving a loss from yesterday, 20 years ago, or more, I hope you will rest in the knowledge that Christ our Savior has overcome death and the grave. He has won that war, and He continues to sit with you in the grief you feel on this earth. The fleshly pain is one He understands intimately. And He will remind you simultaneously of the glory and joy that is to come.


Alleluia. Christ is risen. Amen.

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