Suffering

Suffering

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us.

 ~Romans 8:18

Life has it ups and downs and even at times can just have a normal even flow to it. When we have the highs we are doing great. Nothing seems to bother us and everything is great. When it is that normal even flow we just go with it all. Nothing major is going on and its a calm time.  Then something happens and you feel like the bottom dropped out and you are in that low stage. 

    Sometimes in the low of life comes suffering.  Suffering can come in many different forms. It may be the death of a loved one, an illness, loss of a job, ending of a relationship, etc... Suffering is a personal experience that only that person knows how they are feeling. We may all feel some of the same things but its not the same for everyone. We have to remember this. 

     When we are going through the times of suffering we have to try hard to remember that God is not doing this to us. He did not put all our names in a giant hat and picked out our names to send some suffering down to us. It is a random event that has happened to us and it is now something for us to handle. This is not an easy thing to take at first. We all get mad and ask God why? There are no answers to be honest. I asked it a lot over five years and the answer did not come and it was something that I had to come to terms with. Also, is there any answer that could make it ok anyway? I doubt it. 

     Suffering is not something that comes from something we did or did not do. It is not a response from God because we have sinned. There is no punishment from God that makes us suffer here on earth. We internalize suffering and we take it onto ourselves that “I” did something to deserve this. It again is not the case. When we do this we start down that path of not just suffering but also self deprecation and it makes it worse for us. 

      Suffering happens to the good and not so good people. It is hard when we are in that pain and we see people who do not do the right things be at the high points in their lives. We can not focus on this because all it will do is add to our pain. Bad things happen to good people. It is a fact of life and yes it is not fair. Life is not fair. I wish it was. 

      When we are suffering we need to ask for the strength to get through this time. Ask God to ease the suffering and to remove it from your life. Ask for that healing of all things, physical, mental and spiritual. Keep asking for it and keep working on yourself as well. We will not just get through the suffering when we do nothing to help. Get up and get moving. Try and find things that just make you smile some.  No, it will not be easy and yes those first times you smile and laugh you may feel that it was wrong because of what is going on. It is ok to start to live again and to find some joys. God does not want us to stay in that state of suffering but to find those joys in the world. 

     This world is full of suffering and sometimes it may feel that you get more then your fair share of it. Turn to those in your life to help with your suffering. Open yourself not to just God and Jesus but to the whole body of Christ. Remember Jesus knew first hand of suffering and so did His Mother, Mary. Pray to them and ask for their intercessions.  There is no simple quick fix when we are suffering. It has to run it course and we can either prolong the healing or work for the healing. 

      I have to say that I have not made growth in those times of highs in my life but it has been in those times of coming out of my lows that I have grown the most. Trust me I am not saying that it makes going through it easier but that there are graces after it. It can be a time of personal and spiritual growth. 

     Suffering is something that is a fact of the physical world. We have to pull from the spiritual and physical world to alleviate the suffering in our own lives. We are never alone in our suffering. God and Jesus is always there with us and for us. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and turn to those around you and mostly importantly to the Heavens when suffering is around you.