Bitter portion....

Grief is an overwhelming emotion.  For any person who is experiencing deep grief, it overtakes everything, the pain so searing it makes it physically hard to breathe.  The thought of the world going on while you are experiencing this crushing blow, this total shift in your universe, is almost incomprehensible.

God knows all.  God has our lives planned from the first moment until the last breath is drawn.  He knows what we will think and do and experience, and it is all according to his divine plan.

Restore to me the joy....

Joy is not a given in this life.  We all seek it.  We all want it for ourselves and for those we love.  But there is not a guarantee, even if we follow our Savior's very footsteps.  There is a lot to be unhappy about, if we want to be.  It is easy to get caught up in the negatives that inundate us from every corner in this world, and to focus on what is wrong in our lives.