Can I hear ya' say it?? Life is Hard! Yep, it is. I'm hearing people around me say it. I'm reading it all over the facebook groups I'm in. A lot of times, though, it takes on the form of a question, "Why is life so hard?" The eternal question that has no answer, I'm afraid.
Let's face it. Relationships are hard. Family life is hard. Managing the meager finances is hard. Keeping your old cars running is hard. Managing the activities of a lot of people is hard. Friendships are hard.
I'm not trying to be a downer here, but it just seems as if at every turn, you have to expect the difficult and not the easy. I think part of it is that the world really needs the sacrifices right now, so the key is to be able to take all this hardness and put it to good use.
In a homily the other day, Father talked about just that. He said that we are all going to suffer, and while some people he knew could actually suffer with joy, he didn't expect that most people, himself included, could do that. "So how do we suffer," he asked. Well, if we can't suffer joyfully, then we at least have to accept our sufferings. He asked us to really think about how we accept our sufferings.
This ties in with an excellent post that Jennifer Fulwiler wrote over at Conversion Diary. She described me to a tee! My mind, right now, is in chaos and the tiniest little thing can tip me over the edge. What I need to figure out is, are the things that are making my mind in chaos things that are here to stay and I just need to learn how to deal with them? Or, is it that those things truly need to go (if, in fact, they can go)? If they are just things I need to deal with, then what kinds of things can I do, as Jen pondered, to bring order to my mind again so that I am a little more stable and not always ready to explode?
Lots to think and pray about. Lots to figure out how to offer up so as to be of some benefit to someone. If I'm more absent than usual, it is because I am trying to figure out how to bring order to the chaos in my mind. Please pray for me, and so many others in this same situation, that we can make it happen!
God Bless!
Prayers for you and yours. I've been thinking about suffering a lot lately too, and I've started thinking that even if I can't do it with joy, I just need to lean into it. To give myself to it like a labor contraction. Some days I do it with far less grace than I would like.
ReplyDeleteThank you Annery. I LOVE the imagery of the contractions and leaning into them. Thank you so much for that.
Deletesuch a timely blogpost for my life right now. No, really. You have no idea how timely this post is. At the very least, this gives me something to chew while I learn to suffer with joy. At the very most, I know this word was straight from God to me (a blessing in and of itself!!). That you are dealing with the same issue is a confirmation that we are not alone here in this place of learning. God is good. I pray I don't have to wander this desert too long though. Leaning in like a labor contraction is a very good visual too ... I'm going to taker another minute, a deep breath, and read it again, really listening for God. (Thank you!)
ReplyDeleteThis alone bring joy to my heart! Not that you are suffering, too, but that my struggles can help you in some small way. God is good and He alone will see us through all of the difficult times. I have learned this - we need to seek God out for He is the only one who will be faithful to us. God bless you.
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