Choose Joy by Kay WarrenSample

Day Three

Train Tracks

I used to think that life came in waves: There was a wave of good and pleasant circumstances followed by a wave of bad and unpleasant circumstances. Or life was a series of hills and valleys; sometimes we’re up, then we’re down. But I’ve come to realize that life is much more like a set of parallel train tracks, with joy and sorrow running inseparably throughout our days. 

Every day of your life good things happen. Beauty, accomplishment, pleasure, fulfillment, and perhaps even excitement occur. That’s the track of joy. But every day of your life also holds disappointment, challenges, struggles, and perhaps even losses for you or those you love. That’s the track of sorrow.

Most of us try to “outsmart” the sorrow track by concentrating our efforts on the joy track, as if by our positive outlook or outright denial of reality we can make the sorrow track go away. That’s impossible, because joy and sorrow will always be present together. No matter how “positive” we think or how hard we try to visualize only happiness, the sorrow track remains. And in the strange paradox of the universe, at the exact moment you and I are experiencing pain, we are also aware of the sweetness of loving and the beauty still to be found. 

One of our toughest challenges in life is to learn how to live on both of those tracks at the same time. But there’s hope! Consider what it’s like to stand between two sets of train tracks and look off into the horizon. Those parallel tracks come together as we look ahead. They are no longer distinguishable as two separate tracks. 

That’s the way it will be for us too. During our lifetime, we “stand on the tracks” looking for signs of Jesus Christ’s return. We watch for the sights and sounds that will alert us that his appearance is very close. One day, in the brightness of his coming, we will meet him face to face. And when we do, the tracks of joy and sorrow will merge. The sorrow will disappear forever, and only the joy will remain.

How do you respond to the idea of joy and sorrow always existing together on this earth? When have you found this to be true in your own life?