Suffering from a personal view

Article for March 1, 2001   For those of us in the liturgical church, my church is Lutheran, the month of March this year will be the heart of the Lenten season. I know some non-liturgical churches do not observe this period in the church year, however, I want to speak to this season for this month's article.

There are many themes which play important roles in the season of Lent. One theme I would like to look at this month is suffering. In the Bible there are many stories about suffering, from Job to the demons in the New Testament, to the man lowered through the roof, to Jesus himself suffering on the cross. In many of these cases, suffering is usually innocent suffering. A person has been born with an affliction, or something happened in his/her life to cause suffering.

People react to the sufferer in many ways. Some blame the person for their suffering, he/she must have done something to deserve this, or God must of had a plan to make that person strong, or it that person would have faith enough, his/her suffering would be taken away.

Suffering is a real person experience for me. I had polio at the age of four and always used crutches and a long leg brace to get around. I tried to make the best of my situation always trying to improve myself doing what the doctors wanted me to do from the many surgeries I had while growing up to doing daily exercises. But some people would always try to say to me I could do more. I had a science teacher in 7th grade who one day out of the blue said, "Tim if you would try harder, you could get rid of those crutches!!" He did not know that I had just come from a summer living with a cast on my leg due to the surgery I had at the beginning of the summer, and that surgery would eventually make me walk better. But he knew what was right for me. I wasn't trying hard enough.

When some people see suffering, they have a difficult time understanding it, so they want to blame the person for it. Try harder, then you will be normal!!

Later on in my life when I became a minister, still using my leg brace but now only a cane and not the crutches, people would write me letters and not sign them, saying if you had faith enough, God would heal you. Or there must be a hidden sin in your life, if you would just repent, God would heal you. How do they know about my faith and my relationship with God. Can't God work through my broken body allowing me to do his ministry in this world? Why do I have to be healed? I pray for that, but it is His will not mine. I also pray for the strength and courage to live each day as fully as I can.

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