Joy & Sorrow

The year 2010 has been a journey of Joy and Sorrow for me. I would LOVE to say it is mostly joy but quite honestly right now it is mostly sorrow with a bit of Joy mixed in here and there. I read this poem this week and it just hit home with me and I decided to share it with you.

Sorrow is one of the things that are lent, not given.
A thing that is lent may be taken away;
a thing that is given is not taken away.
Joy is given:
sorrow is lent.
We are not our own,
we are bought with a price...
(Our sorrow) is lent us for just a little while
that we may use it for eternal purposes.
Then it will be taken away
and everlasting joy will be
our Father's gift to us,
and the Lord God will wipe away
all the tears from our faces.

---Amy Carmichael