Crosses to Bear

As a doctor, I am no stranger to suffering.  As a person, I have had just about my fair share.  I am always impressed when I come across an individual who has turned suffering into a growth opportunity or found some other redemptive story in the midst of it.  A couple of years ago, I was in the midst of chemotherapy for Stage I breast cancer.  I still kept 80% of my normal work hours and pressed on with a number of major commitments.  There were times when I was worn out, times when overwhelmed.  During "one of those days", a patient of mine came to visit who is an ophthalmologist from India and a fellow Christian.  He asked how I was doing and got the honest answer, "I am suffering."

To this he replied eruditely, "It is always so interesting when we find ourselves surprised by suffering.  Becoming a Christian is almost guaranteed suffering."  Of course, Christians do not own the lion's share (no pun intended) of worldwide suffering, but we do happen to worship a God who suffered on our behalf and let us know that His desire was for us to become like him.  Not a lot of Christians really look like Jesus, though I am pretty sure He uses our moments of suffering to make us more like him.  I really had to brew what my patient had said that day. Finally, one day, I actually wrote a song.  It truly emerged from meditation on suffering.  Here are the lyrics:

Don’t be surprised when you suffer,

For it is the way of the cross.

The pathway of pain

Seems a place of such loss,

But in the end it is Jesus we gain.

We proclaim that we want to be like Him.

Do we really mean what we say?

So many blessings He brings in the things we didn’t ask for,

God’s ways are not our ways.

Blessed are the poor in Spirit,

For theirs is the kingdom of heav’n,

As they mourn they find comfort,

As they meekly receive

The righteousness they’ve ever longed for.

Not a lot of Christians are, like the Apostle Paul stated he was, trying "to be like Christ in his sufferings."  Some try to avoid suffering at all costs.  Nobody I know desires to be crucified.  We don't have to go looking for suffering; it is a part of life.  It shouldn't surprise us, even though it often does.  It is not unusual to react to suffering by questioning God's love or somehow feeling punished.  I think it is true that we sometimes suffer because we have done wrong or have not done what we should have done.  Most of the rest of the time, we have no exact sense why we are suffering.  One thing is for sure, we are not alone.  I used to think the poem "Footprints in the Sand" was so schmaltzy; yet, I remember praying on the way to work back in 2009 for God to carry me through what seemed to be an impossible time.  I still struggle when things don't seem to be going well, still surprised and still needing to grow and not just fall apart.  Let no suffering be wasted!