The "joyful gladness" of compunction
I am amazed at how that which is called mourning and grief should contain joy and gladness interwoven within it, like honey in the comb
When I consider the actual nature of compunction, I am amazed at how that which is called mourning and grief should contain joy and gladness interwoven within it, like honey in the comb. What then are we to learn from this? That such compunction is, in a special sense, a gift of the Lord. There is, then, in the soul no pleasureless pleasure, for God consoles those who are contrite in heart in a secret way (cf. Ps 50:19).
As soon as a baby begins to recognize its father, it is all filled with joy. But if the father goes away for a time on business and then comes home again, the child becomes full of joy and sorrow-joy at seeing the beloved, and sorrow at being deprived for so long of that fair beauty.
And a mother sometimes hides herself from her child, and when she sees with what sorrow it seeks her, she is delighted; for thus she teaches it to be attached to her for ever, and fans the flame of its love for her. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear (Lk 14:35), saith the Lord.
St John Climacus, The Ladder VII,50.57-58