Captured joy

I love pictures and I hate pictures.  They have the ability to capture great joy and happiness but also great sorrow and pain.  This picture above, captures both.  My dad spent the last 6 months of his time on earth in the hospital...with a 2 week "vacation" at home in the middle of it. Hospitals are not like home.  I used to work in them and love them until they represented brokenness and bad news for me and my family.
I was reflecting today on joy in the midst of pain and suffering and thought of this picture above.  He was truly joyful in the moment.  Why?  Because God delivered on his promises.  The Lord was his strength and was faithful in His promise to comfort, give peace, and ultimately heal.  Plus, he had "his girls" at his side.  We laughed hard, tried to have fun, I cried a lot, but despite it all we were a family who was waiting on the Lord.  We had hope. We didn't know the answer, but we knew Who the answer would come from and trusted in His good plan.  This morning my mom text me a picture (below) of what she found in Dad's bible where he had written, "teach me" by a verse.

God is faithful.  He did teach him.  Who could endure such suffering (details I can't even begin to explain) and still wear a heartfelt, pure and honest smile that overflowed from a joy filled heart.  No one apart from Christ.  Human flesh is incapable of it.  It flows from Love.  I remember that moment I took the picture. He wasn't just putting on a smile for us. He was happy in that moment.  Christ promises us a peace that transcends all understanding as we trust and rely and wait on him in this life,  and He delivered.  I was blessed to witness the fruits of the Spirit lived out, daily, and have forever been encouraged by his faith and hope.   A faith and hope I pray will continue to be a legacy in my family for generations to come!