Suffering is Real

Everyone tries, but we all know you can’t eliminate suffering. It is a real part of life that we have all experienced. Every person suffers, and when we take a moment to accept our own suffering rather than trying to escape from life, we grow closer to God and each other. When we are able to appreciate our suffering, we may even become more merciful and patient with others. When Christ invites us to “deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him,” (Mark 8.34) He isn’t without experience. He suffered as one of us so He knows our struggle, and He knows how we can only grow closer to Him when we stop focusing on ourselves and start to see that others are suffering around us also. Half-way through Great Lent the Church reminds us of our destination; the Cross of Christ. Great Lent is our blessed opportunity to embrace our suffering through prayer and fasting, so that we can finally learn that life isn’t about us. It is about God.