JOY 365: Day 31
A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come. But when her baby is born, she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. – John 16:21
Today is my daughter’s 19th birthday. It doesn’t seem possible. She was born under complicated circumstances. Along with a hole in her heart, she had an irregular heartbeat that was corrected through surgery at age 7. Although she had physical problems with her heart, she’s always had a caring heart towards others. One time, when she was about 5, I caught her crying while she was climbing a shelf to get change out of a jar. She said, “Blind dogs need money.” She had been watching an ASPCA infomercial. These years as her dad have been such a joy. I’m so proud of her in so many ways!
Her birth gave us great joy. The pain of birth was overshadowed by the joy of our child’s birth. John 16:21 offers this illustration as an analogy of the disciples’ grief being turned into joy as Christ returned to his Father in heaven. While they would experience temporary sorrow as Jesus left the earth, he had secured their eternal joy of being with him in heaven. His return signaled that death and sin had been defeated and that eternal life was now made possible through Jesus. I’m so glad we have Abby. She’s a great gift from God that reminds us of a greater one from Him. As the Lord allows, we will celebrate many more birthdays with our kids, and each one will point us to the infinite celebration awaiting us in eternity with Jesus.
How can we leverage our earthly sorrows and joys for God’s eternal purposes?
stephen R Harrison 
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