May 24th, 2020: Joy and Sorrow

 Joy and sorrow

Some of you might know that my elderly father (99 years old) was diagnosed with Covid-19 in early May. He is a resident of a nursing home in Montreal and that facility was contaminated by workers who traveled from one nursing home to another. After two weeks of quarantine, he was tested twice and both tests came back negative so he is officially clear from the virus. Although we as a family are grateful for the news, we find ourselves grieving with other families who have lost their loved ones who were in the same nursing home. The information we received is 12 have died and more than 40 others are being treated and quarantined. There are 120 residents in the home.

We can experience great joy and unfathomable sorrow at the same time. Both experiences simply confirm to me the presence of God in life. Joy tells me about the goodness of God. Sorrow reveals to me the identification of God in human suffering. They are at the different ends of the spectrum of life experience and that is how I see the completeness of God in the world.

As I heard the report from the director of the nursing home, my mind was searching for the memories of those who passed on. I simply asked God to allow me to feel what He feels so that I can identify with the grieving heart of God in a suffering world. I can feel the pain of those who lost their parents due to the pandemic. Things are no longer just mere information or academic. It is now a personal experience.

I am grateful that my father made it through the quarantine period safely. He never really complained about the pain. He asked not to be on a ventilator. He did have some unflattering comments about the food :). For me, his life manifests both strength and simplicity. He is a very quiet and resilient person I have ever known. I see God's beauty in my father's steadiness and unassuming mindset toward life.

Maybe the paradox works both ways: being joyful with a broken heart and being sorrowful with a joyful heart. Maybe it is not a paradox after all because, in God, there is no paradox. There are indeed mysteries in God and that will be revealed when we are ready to receive and embrace His truth.

(Daniel 2: 22)
"It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness,
And the light dwells with Him."

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