Sadness 

Ecclesiastes 7:3

Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. 

Sadness can weigh heavily upon a person. The past couple of weeks have been sad. One of my close relatives has found himself in a dire predicament; one of my dear friends has had serious family issues; another of my friends has been suffering from bouts of depression; one of my husband’s aunts, who I consider my own aunt, passed away; and today one of my close high school friends went to be with the Lord. I feel sad. 

Sadness is a difficult emotion. Oftentimes we tend to hide our feelings of sadness. We go on with our life; we work; we smile: we answer “fine” when asked our well-being, when in reality, we are anything but fine. This is the problem with sadness.

How can this scripture be true? How can sadness, that terrible feeling, be better than laughter? 

I learned this life lesson from the movie, Inside Out. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it. The premise of the movie is that the main characters are the emotions inside the teenage girl’s head. Sadness seems to be blamed for the chaos that ensues. Just when we think all hope is lost, Joy has the realization that when Sadness is present, the family rallies together.

In times of sadness, if we confide in those close to us, then we find support and love. Joy overcomes sadness when we are transparent about our feelings and allow others to comfort our hearts. And, we have the promise of the Lord. He will turn our sorrows into joy. 

Psalm 30:5b

…weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.