When I was in college, I remember taking a walk with one of my Geography professors one afternoon off campus.
Maybe it was because I had always struggled with the rollercoaster of living with a mood disorder, or that I was still holding on to a misguided Buddhist ideal of non-attachment post-conversion to Christianity, but in any case I made mention, of my frustration with the highs and lows of life.
"I wish they would just cancel each other out," I said in sophomoric fashion, "so everything could be kind of net-zero. Like taking the tops off a mountain to fill in the valley." No love, but no loss. No pleasure, but no pain. A life of dispassion seemed like a noble, responsible pursuit.
"Hm," he said wryly. "Doesn't sound like much of a life to me."
I've thought back to that conversation from time to time now that life is in full-force. My kids drive me to both the deepest wells of anger with their antics and a primal urge to protect and nurture them. My wife forces me to dig deep to forgive and trust in our future, while recognizing she could be taken from me at any time. My walk with God has taken me through deserts and dark nights as well as mountaintop witness to transfiguration and glory.
We risk a lot when we love, when we bring life into the world, and when we put our trust in Someone. But I can say without hesitation that the joys pay for the pain, that the frustration and burdens are outnumbered by the growth, and the eternal mess is a small price to pay for a house full of life. For faith is a pearl of great price (Mt 13:46), a good wife more precious than jewels (Prov 31:10), and children a blessing from the Lord (Ps 127:3).
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