MAKING SENSE OF SUFFERING

Making Sense of Suffering

Show mercy and kindness to one another. Zechariah 7:9


To be human is to suffer. It’s also human to wonder why we have to. Though there are no simple answers to this difficult question, it is nearly always true that our suffering becomes less painful if we can find meaning in it.


This truth came home to me after undergoing recent foot surgery. True, the surgery was minor, but it was painful and inconvenient. It would be three months before I could walk again on my own two feet. A few days after the surgery, my next-door neighbours, Bob and Kathy, surprised me with a visit and the gift of a home-cooked meal for my family. Both had suffered through their own share of foot surgeries, and as we compared notes, I felt buoyed by people who knew exactly what I was going through.


We all expressed how easy it had been to take our two functioning feet for granted prior to surgery. The experience had made us more grateful for the blessing of being able to walk without help. Then Kathy commented that, although she was grateful for two feet, she was certainly glad she didn’t have three. I understood her point, implying that in her case, three feet would probably have amounted to three separate surgeries!


After they left, I couldn’t help but think about how suffering can carve a larger space in our hearts, helping us empathize with others. That was certainly the case with Bob and Kathy, who were quick to offer practical help and encouragement to someone who was suffering as they had been.


My own difficulties also bore witness to another dynamic at work in those who suffer. Though I usually pride myself on being self-reliant, my surgery opened my eyes to the goodness of others, because there were so many people who offered their help.


We know that suffering does not always improve a person’s character. Nor does it necessarily reveal the goodness of others. Sometimes the reverse is true. But we do know that God is the only one creative and powerful enough to take the hard things and make them into good things for those who love him.


Father, thank you for being with me in my suffering. Open my eyes to the ways you are working.