Joy comes in the morning

Tomorrow is Mother's Day. It is a blessing to have a great Mom. It is a blessing to be surrounded by friends and family that are also great examples of motherhood.

It is time to celebrate the gift of life and the joy of being a mother.

But this weekend, I have a heavy heart. I've felt it for the past couple of days.

I'm thinking of one Mother in particular that won't wake to her little 21-month old's giggles. She won't hear her husband tell her child to kiss Mommy because it's Mother's Day. Instead, she will feel that deep twinge that she's felt so often in the past year and a half since she lost him.

My nephew is with Jesus. His Momma, my sister, has empty arms this Mother's Day. And it's hard to rejoice in your own blessings when another has had hers ripped away.

Thankfully, there is another life on the way. She just started feeling her baby moving. This little one, her third pregnancy, will fill part of the void in her heart. She will have a baby in her arms next Mother's Day. She's told me that the loss that turned her world upside down has made this experience all the sweeter. It has given her a greater joy than she's ever known.

"Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning." Psalm 30:5

Joy is on its way. We weep. We mourn. We question God's sovereignty. But joy is on its way.

My heart aches for my sister. For every woman that has felt the joy of motherhood and then found themselves at a small grave.

Weeping is okay.

But may you find JOY unspeakable in unlikely places this Mother's Day.