17 January 2009

Sorrow no Longer the Islands but the Sea

Today I read Nicholas Wolterstorff's moving Lament for a Son. His son Eric died at age 25 in a mountain climbing accident in Austria.

I shall look at the world through tears. Perhaps I shall see things that dry-eyed I could not see. (26)

Sometimes I think that happiness is over for me. I look at photos of the past and immediately comes the thought: that's when we were still happy. But I can still laugh, so I guess that isn't quite it. Perhaps what's over is happiness as the fundamental tone of my existence. Now sorrow is that. Sorrow is no longer the islands but the sea. (47)

I find myself chastened. And more alive. And more grateful for Christ's great Reversal. The completion of a dissertation has moved one step closer in my heart to where it should be.

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