Treasure in the Trial

“I don’t want to waste a good trial”.  The words stick in my memory from that long-ago conversation with a friend going through a distressing difficulty.   I was reminded of this wise lesson as I recovered from surgery recently.  It was not an intense trial, but it was, indeed, a period of suffering.

The ‘treasure of the trial’ for me was two-fold:  thankfulness and awareness.

I was newly thankful for the following blessings:
1) The handicap support bar in restrooms
2) Athletic pants with a comfortable s-t-r-e-t-c-h waistband
3) Loved ones who took gentle, thoughtful care of me
4) Narcotics (in the legitimate sense; I took a total of 5 pain pills my whole recovery!)
5) N***** -  she is an elderly woman in our church (to remain unnamed), who has for most of the years I’ve known her lived in ongoing pain.  Yet she remains optimistic, hopeful in God, and is an active participant in the life of our church---and has encouraged me on numerous occasions.  Her gentle perseverance and faithfulness were illumined by my own paltry pain journey.

I am newly aware of suffering’s benefits:
1) In suffering I am forced to look to God, away from my own reliance upon self.  That mirage is revealed, and reality exposes my desperate dependence upon God.  And this is a good place.
2) In suffering I am challenged to evaluate upon whom I rely when I am in need. In my pain, hardship, or difficulty do my husband, other friends, or practical solutions become my ‘functional savior’….or do I turn to Christ?
3) In suffering, I am given new insight into the lives of those who hurt. And I consider: Am I thoughtful? Am I gentle? Am I aware to notice their pain? Do I pray for others?

 In my day-to-day life, do I stop to shift focus from my pleasant merry-go-round existence to consider the arduous tilt-a-whirl nausea of others?  

Do I notice & do I actively care for those suffering?

My scars are healing, the tenderness is lessening, and my pain is now sporadic and tolerable.  The memory of my frailty remains, however.

And I pray the Lord will keep its memory fresh and real to me for a long, long time.