The apostle Paul's epistle to the Philippian church is only four short chapters and one hundred and four verses, but the number of references to "joy" and "rejoicing" in it is as many as sixteen, an average of four occurrences per chapter. The apostle Paul was very happy, and his happiness was hard-won and rare. He was in prison at the time, and the reason for his imprisonment was not a crime, but the preaching of the gospel. The source of his joy came from Jesus Christ, that is, his joy in the Lord.
In fact, we can see and hear such testimonies around us. There is a sister who is rejoicing in the Lord. She had followed her grandmother to church since she was a child, and naturally trusted the Savior when she grew up. Although she trusted in the Lord at that time, like most believers, she only had Him in her heart, but seldom pursued Him herself and did not go to church often.
Later, this sister married a man from the same village and gave birth to a boy. Her husband was in a construction business that sounded quite profitable; however, not only did he not make any money, he also owed many debts and was chased almost every day, and the family lived in fear and had no peace. In order to get out of this predicament, the sister divorced her husband and the child was raised by his father.
After the divorce, the sister went out to run a snack business; although it was hard work, she could earn some money to pay for child support; moreover, her store was close to the church, so she could attend church meetings regularly. In this way, while she was making some money from her business, her spiritual life was also greatly improved, and she attended meetings regularly, and gradually served in the church.
About three years after her store opened, the sister was introduced to her current husband. He was a brother in the Lord who loved the Lord passionately when he was young, but later, when his business grew, he turned away from the Lord and did not often attend church services. As such, he was not baptized. Still, he had the Lord in his heart and was very supportive of her ministry. After she got married, she gave birth to another child, a daughter. Thus, she had two children, one boy and one girl. In addition, her current husband loved her and supported her in her faith and service. She felt that she had finally come to the end of her suffering and was so happy. However, her happiness was shattered by a sudden car accident. The sister's son, who was only twenty years old, lost his life in a car accident.
This hit her so hard that she fainted several times while dealing with the car accident. The sister also felt indebted to herself for not doing her motherly duty and believed that her child's car accident was also related to her divorce and not being by his side. This added to her pain, and it was even inferred that it would be difficult for the sister to get over the pain for a while or even in the future.
It is hard to imagine what kind of pain and suffering she went through during that time; however, after half a year, she has almost come out of the last painful experience, and at least she presents herself to us as joyful and positive. Moreover, she loves the Lord more than ever before and is willing to serve.
How was this sister able to come out of the pain of losing her son? There are many reasons. She had to look forward instead of just wallowing in pain. Moreover, she had a husband and daughter to take care of. One of the key reasons is Jesus Christ. In her own words, "Without Jesus Christ, I would not be where I am today. It is the gift of Christ that I can have joy."
- Translated by Wylie Sun
使徒保罗写给腓立比教会的书信只有短短四章、一百零四节的经文，但里面所提到的喜乐、欢喜的次数，却多达十六次，平均每章出现了四次。使徒保罗是非常快乐的，状态保持得非常好。这份喜乐是来之不易，非常难得的。因为他当时正在监狱之中，而且他坐监的原因并非犯罪，乃因为传福音的缘故。他喜乐之源乃是来自于耶稣基督，也就是靠主而有的喜乐。
其实，在我们周围也能够亲眼看见、听见这样的见证。有一位姊妹就是如此。这位姊妹自小跟随奶奶去教会聚会，长大了之后也就自然而然的信靠了救主。那时她虽然信靠救主，但与多数的信徒一样，也只是心里面有主，自己很少追求，也不常常聚会。
后来，这位姊妹嫁给了同村人，生育了一个男孩。她的丈夫，做工地生意，虽然听起来挺能赚钱，但对于姊妹的丈夫来说，不仅没有赚到钱，还欠了很多债，几乎天天被追债，一家人活在惧怕之中，不得安宁。这位姊妹为了摆脱这种困境，与丈夫协议离婚，孩子归男方抚养。
离婚之后，姊妹外出做小吃生意；虽然很辛苦，但能赚些钱，可以交够孩子的抚养费用；而且她的店距离教堂也近，方便自己经常到教堂聚会。就这样，这位姊妹在做生意赚些钱的同时，属灵生命也比以往有了很大的改观，不仅经常参加聚会，而且逐渐在教会中也有些服侍。
店里开张约三年之后，姊妹经人介绍，结识了现任丈夫。她的丈夫是位主内弟兄，小的时候热心爱主，只是后来生意做大了之后，远离了主，没有常来聚会。虽然他不常来聚会，也没有受洗，但心里有主，而且也非常支持姊妹的服侍。
结婚之后，姊妹又生育了一个女儿。这样姊妹就有一男一女两个孩子。再加之，姊妹的现任丈夫爱她，而且还支持她的信仰以及服侍。使她深深觉得，自己终于苦尽甘来了，好不幸福。然而，这种幸福的状态却被一场突如来的车祸打破。姊妹年仅二十岁的儿子，在车祸中丧生。
这对她的打击非常大，处理车祸事件的时候，晕倒了好几次。这位姊妹还为自己没有尽到母亲的责任而感到亏欠，认为孩子的车祸也跟自己离婚、没有守候在他身边有关。这就使得她痛上加痛，甚至有人推断这位姊妹一时半会甚至往后很难从痛苦中走出来。
转眼之间，此事已经过去大半年了，期间难以想象她经历了怎样的痛以及煎熬，也不知道她家人给予了她什么样的帮助；但是，大半年之后，这位姊妹几乎已经从上段的痛苦经历中走了出来，至少她呈现在我们面前是很喜乐的、积极的、正面的。而且，她也比以往任何时候都更为爱主，乐于服侍。
这位姊妹为什么能够比较快速的从丧子之痛中走出来呢？原因有很多，因为人毕竟要向前看，不能一味的沉浸在痛苦之中，因为自己还有丈夫、女儿，要照顾好他们。但其中要也有一个关键的原因，那就是耶稣基督。用她自己的话来说，“若没有耶稣基督，就没有自己的今天。自己能够拥有喜乐，是基督的赐予，是靠着基督才有的结果。”
从基督而来的喜乐——记一位丧子姊妹如何走出悲痛的经历
The apostle Paul's epistle to the Philippian church is only four short chapters and one hundred and four verses, but the number of references to "joy" and "rejoicing" in it is as many as sixteen, an average of four occurrences per chapter. The apostle Paul was very happy, and his happiness was hard-won and rare. He was in prison at the time, and the reason for his imprisonment was not a crime, but the preaching of the gospel. The source of his joy came from Jesus Christ, that is, his joy in the Lord.
In fact, we can see and hear such testimonies around us. There is a sister who is rejoicing in the Lord. She had followed her grandmother to church since she was a child, and naturally trusted the Savior when she grew up. Although she trusted in the Lord at that time, like most believers, she only had Him in her heart, but seldom pursued Him herself and did not go to church often.
Later, this sister married a man from the same village and gave birth to a boy. Her husband was in a construction business that sounded quite profitable; however, not only did he not make any money, he also owed many debts and was chased almost every day, and the family lived in fear and had no peace. In order to get out of this predicament, the sister divorced her husband and the child was raised by his father.
After the divorce, the sister went out to run a snack business; although it was hard work, she could earn some money to pay for child support; moreover, her store was close to the church, so she could attend church meetings regularly. In this way, while she was making some money from her business, her spiritual life was also greatly improved, and she attended meetings regularly, and gradually served in the church.
About three years after her store opened, the sister was introduced to her current husband. He was a brother in the Lord who loved the Lord passionately when he was young, but later, when his business grew, he turned away from the Lord and did not often attend church services. As such, he was not baptized. Still, he had the Lord in his heart and was very supportive of her ministry. After she got married, she gave birth to another child, a daughter. Thus, she had two children, one boy and one girl. In addition, her current husband loved her and supported her in her faith and service. She felt that she had finally come to the end of her suffering and was so happy. However, her happiness was shattered by a sudden car accident. The sister's son, who was only twenty years old, lost his life in a car accident.
This hit her so hard that she fainted several times while dealing with the car accident. The sister also felt indebted to herself for not doing her motherly duty and believed that her child's car accident was also related to her divorce and not being by his side. This added to her pain, and it was even inferred that it would be difficult for the sister to get over the pain for a while or even in the future.
It is hard to imagine what kind of pain and suffering she went through during that time; however, after half a year, she has almost come out of the last painful experience, and at least she presents herself to us as joyful and positive. Moreover, she loves the Lord more than ever before and is willing to serve.
How was this sister able to come out of the pain of losing her son? There are many reasons. She had to look forward instead of just wallowing in pain. Moreover, she had a husband and daughter to take care of. One of the key reasons is Jesus Christ. In her own words, "Without Jesus Christ, I would not be where I am today. It is the gift of Christ that I can have joy."
- Translated by Wylie Sun
A Bereaved Mother Recovers From Grief of Losing Her Son
