I wanted to share a few things I have learned about suffering over the last couple of years. I have learned more than I really wanted to…
I have to really live one day at a time. I cannot fret about what will happen tomorrow or next week.
I have had to learn how to rest, even when I do not want to. I have to listen to the limits of my body, which God created.
I have learned to pray when I can’t pray as I normally would. Some days in pain, all I can do is cry out, “Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.” Marilyn encouraged me to pray this when I could not pray anything else.
I have learned that God can sustain me through more than I thought (as an Enneagram 8, I could always tough my way through difficult situations).
I have learned to humble myself to receive. I hate being in a wheelchair, but the people of Savior would rather I be present and in a wheelchair than not be there at all. I have learned how important the prayers of people are to carry me to the throne of God. To give me joy amid my suffering.
I have always been sensitive to people with handicaps, but this has made me more so. Being in a wheelchair shows you places that are friendly to the handicapped through their facilities. And the way people react to you!
I have learned something about worship. I pray for healing, but I have learned to be sure I am worshiping the Healer and not just the healing. At times I have wanted to beg for healing and forget to worship Jesus.
I have learned to be grateful. I started a Grateful Journal and try to write at least one thing in it at the end of each day. This was really difficult when I was lying on a couch for 3 months, or when I am in so much pain it takes me a while to find one thing.
But from those learnings, I know how to pray for others who are suffering. Recently, a friend was laid up. I wrote, “My prayer for you, my dear friend, is that you will deeply rest physically. I pray spiritually you will rest in the arms of Jesus. That you will trust Him for all the things you cannot do right now. That you know you are His beloved Son even when you cannot accomplish as much as you would like. I pray that you will know Jesus even more through your suffering, but you also know the deep joy that comes as you cling to Him. I do pray for healing for you and that you have patience in God's timing (still praying this for myself). I also pray for any trauma in your soul through this harrowing experience.”
Maybe one of you needed that prayer today.