How To Live In The Tension of Life

There’s a constant tension in our world. We feel it even on our happiest of days and most joyous of occasions. The tension between the life God meant for us to have, and the one we live here on this fallen earth.

This tension was made so vividly clear to me this week - ironically enough on my birthday.

On Wednesday evening at Boone Hospital in Columbia, MO, two families were anxiously awaiting to celebrate their children. This hospital has become a somewhat sacred ground for me. It’s where my mother died, where my son received his cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatments. I have always been struck by the irony of life and death co-existing as everyday occurrences here. 

On this particular eve, it was where a young couple was preparing for the birth of their first child. Having gotten to do life with them for the past 3-plus years, I must admit I was more than excited that their little Evie waited until 1 a.m. on December 5th to arrive. Sharing a birthday with a new little life reminded me of the miracle of all births, even my own. 

Yet while this couple celebrated their daughter and experienced all the initial overwhelming rush of emotions that parenthood brings, another couple in another part of the hospital was doing the hardest thing parents ever have to do. They were saying goodbye to their son, who not only was born but then died on December 5th. He was 23 and had battled his recurring cancer for nearly 6 years. 

The emotional complexity of these events has shaken me. I so well remember holding my daughter for the first time and so we’ll know how close we came to saying goodbye to our sweet Matthew. I rejoice with one couple and weep with and for the other. 

Tenderly this morning, Jesus reminded me that for them both, He is our Hope and He is enough. He helped me to see that both life and death point us to His life and death and give us real, lasting and unwavering joy. In His life, we see His plan for His creation unfold. In His death, He reconciles us back to Him, redeeming our broken bodies and hearts. 

This is the best birthday present ever.