Suffering is an eventuality. That seems to be true for anything alive today.
Looking back, life up through high school was quite cushy, to put it frankly. I lived in a sheltered bubble where disasters happened on the other side of the bubble solution, in what seemed to be a totally different world. Albeit, the occasional disaster threatened to burst said bubble, however, the bubble always managed to stay intact. My worry at the time was that the fragile fabric that held my bubble together would be burst by something from within, something that wouldn't hit "close to home" but that would hit the home itself. Home for me was friends, family, belief, etc. I was worried that a disaster would strike one of these major tenets of my life.
It was only near the end of high school that I realized that the bubble couldn't last forever, and that, if anything, I should take advantage of my bubble while I can by venturing out with the insurance of the bubble always being there to retreat back to if anything went wrong.
I was hardly able to put this into practice when my home was hit at its core. As I've probably already explained in some entry in this blog, Senioritis coupled with moving to a new state and going to college struck a huge blow to my bubble. It was about to burst. I still had family to hang on to, thank goodness. Otherwise, the bubble surely would have been lost for good.
However, even if my protective bubble of not-so-stable stability was shrinking, I decided I still needed to educate myself on what lay outside. I started to be a constant checker of the CBS News website, updating myself on the latest happenings around the world. As is well known to any person who partakes of the news' offerings every day, the news is full of negative stories. So much so, that they have to set aside specific segments to raise their viewers from the depression filled pit that they lowered them into. I realized this quite quickly.
It was scary.
To say that my world was shaken to its core is an understatement. For a time, I feared death, kidnapping, house fires, and natural disasters of all sorts. Looking back, it does not surprise me that these things sparked overpowering fear and angst. I was within the bubble, and now I was without.
These days, I am not paralyzed with the fear of suffering. Could it be attributed to desensitization? Possibly. Could it be attributed to a growing faith? Probably.
Since suffering is an eventuality, it is best to look beyond the suffering, because it's coming. It's coming with a vengeance. But just as death is an eventuality, a person should not live every day in light of that. Instead, life should be lived to its fullest because of the eventuality of death. With suffering, it should be no different. When there is no suffering, should we look forward to the time when there may be suffering? Of course not. Although fear may be manifested because of that eventuality, even moreso must the assurance of conquering the suffering be manifested.
I definitely attribute some of my lack of paralyzing fear to this surety of the conquering of suffering. I do know that suffering is an expected part of life moreso now than I did, and that is definitely a part of it, but to know moreso that suffering is going to be conquered than knowing the suffering is coming is a blessed assurance that I have come to know and cherish.
While we're at it, when we are in the middle of suffering, should we then merely look to the time when there will be no suffering. Yes, to an extent. But it should not be discounted that something can be gained by suffering. Romans 5:3-5 says, "... we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us."
To say that suffering is a purely negative aspect of life is shallow. Suffering brings about the best change in the life of a person dedicated to growth and understanding. Yes, suffering is suffering and there is no way around that. But once, the emotional pain of a situation has been whittled away by time, what stands in its place doesn't serve as a memorial to what once was, but is a trophy that stands to show what has replaced the suffering in its stead. If someone is not dedicated to realizing the true value of suffering, then growth is hindered. Truly, the remnant of the situation will be a memorial to what once occurred and will be no more than that, a blight on life.
I realize that my musings usually have an idealistic air about them. I assure you, my life is in no way ideal. I am still learning and growing every day in my understanding and perspective of certain aspects of life. But what I strive for is ideal. Idealistic goals are unrealistic in this world, I know, but to strive for perfection is the closest to a realistic ideal I can conjure up at this juncture. To use the oft quoted quote, "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."
This week has been a tough week. Several major instances of suffering have been dealt to me and the people around me. My heart is heavy for those who are dealing with those bouts of suffering at the most intense level.
As said earlier, a hope should be maintained of better things to come, a conquering of suffering. As a person of faith, I look forward to the day when suffering will be truly conquered. But until then, I must deal with suffering as it is today. One way I have dealt with it is this song:
I cast all my cares upon You
I lay all of my burdens down at Your feet
And anytime I don't know what to do
I will cast all my cares upon You
... but even so, come, Lord Jesus
Best Wishes!
~Richie