Wisdom Through Suffering

I remember how frustrated my friend was who started a counseling practice at the tender age of 26. Though covered up in people needing services, there were several who walked in, looked at her and announced…”I’m sure you know your stuff, but there’s just no way at your age you could know anything about my stuff!”

I asked God many years ago to teach me and point me toward wisdom. Over the years I’ve decided that instead of small talk I prefer to talk to people at any age that have “been through the fire”. I mean folks who’ve been through what most of us run from – those who can tell you what’s been lost and then found, what’s been broken and then mended. Because, really, that’s what I need to know.

I count one of my greatest blessings to be my encounter this week with a young counselor who’s been through the fire, battling a rare cancer she was not supposed to get. I want to thank her for the wisdom she imparted to me because, like the lost coin, it was a gift of great value. I want her to know that I don’t take her tears for granted in honestly telling me her story – good and bad. Her willingness to be open about her journey was the gift of spiritual conversation about spiritual things, better than gold.

Suffering is a mystery but I am absolutely sure it is of great value in a broken world. It rights “cafeteria-styled” theology – if I do this then that won’t happen to me. It reinforces the story of Job – that when all else is stripped from us, it’s about the relationship between God and me and my dependence upon Him. Folks, that’s a real love story.