Suffering

If God causes you to suffer much, it is a sign that He has great designs for you, and that He certainly intends to make you a saint.  - Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491 - 1556), Memorial Day July 31

A friend of mine posted this today to which I responded “interesting.”

Suffering is such a broad word to use.  It means many things to many people.  Some of us think of suffering from financial strains, but when compared with the poverty and famine in third world countries, do we really suffer here in the United States when most of us really live beyond our means and have many things we do not need but want.  That is not suffering from anything but our own poor choices.  The people in the third world countries suffer in ways in which we cannot imagine.  There are many more examples of suffering that are beyond our control compared to suffering that we bring upon ourselves by our poor choices.

I think that when we think of suffering with respect to this statement by St. Ignatius, we need to really examine WHO is responsible for our suffering.  I do think there are circumstances which make us likely to be inclined to remain in bad situations which cause of to appear to choose suffering…being raised in a poor home environment is highly detrimental to children and they have absolutely no control over that. Actual neurological changes happen to the brain and nervous system as it develops in children and that cannot be undone.  Those things impact personality, coping skills, and decision making.   I think we DO have the power to make the choice to remove ourselves from that suffering, but it is just not as easy or natural as it is…it is genuinely nerve-racking.  So, it is like two kinds of suffering at once.

Anyways, my friend said, “I think we (if we wish) can learn to become better people because of the events of our life whether it be bad (suffering) or good (laughter).   As Mary said in the bible she kept all of these things in her heart pondering them. We ponder on the things that happened and we can then make the best of them. These are the things that move us the deepest.”  I agree.  I write about many of them in my life. I always try to find the messages. I think if we can find the messages in the bad things, then we can at least make something good out of the suffering. Sometimes, we have to really look hard and sometimes, it takes time and distance to allow for the reflection to occur because while in the heat of the suffering, our minds and hearts are clouded with pain. Sometimes distance and time gives us what we need to see things more clearly and quite often, we add to our understanding of something as time goes on.  And maybe one day, we can truly find peace.