Just Keep Swimming
Man. Life is a series of painful blows, one after the other. It is also a series of joys and moments of deep encouragement and love. It’s so funny how whenever we’re faced with something hurtful or hard, we tend to focus much more on that, sometimes letting it fester, than focusing on the good in our lives. Acknowledging pain is good, but getting through it to a joyful moment is also equally as important.
Right now, I’m reading a wonderful book by Tim Keller about pain and suffering. Who would’ve thought a year and a half ago that by starting this blog I would consistently be writing about pain and suffering? I didn’t imagine that at first. I really thought it would simply be a blog about encouraging, blissful things: light things, joyful circumstances, moments of happiness and glee. I thought life would always be carefree and blissful, perhaps a little bit ignorant and pain-free as well. Oh how naive!
If anything, I have grown tremendously over this past year. Grown to accept grief and suffering, and to not see it as the rest of our culture does: as something to avoid at all costs, to run away from, and to not be shaped by. I believe in an entirely different worldview; that suffering is for our good, not an interruption, and meant to be incorporated into our life narratives. The story of our culture is one of hopelessness in a lot of ways; I want to “just keep swimming,” by cultivating hope, perhaps even creating real artwork, spending time with friends and family, and reminding myself of the good that has happened in the past, anticipating more of it for the future.
Be encouraged today; dig deep into pain. Allow yourself to feel angry if you need to. There is a Healer who knows and cares about you, and will direct your angry steps forward. He knows when we start veering off the path of righteousness and freedom; He will keep us safe and secure. Even if you’re not a Christian or any sort of believer, know that there are, at the very least, people who love you dearly. Don’t blame your sufferings on others; try to accept them and push forward. This is a quote from the book I’m reading right now:
“I see glimpses of what God is doing and how my life will be changed – and I get excited to see who I get to be at the end of all this. Like being in a race, where it starts to rain and you hit a mud pit. You can’t go around it, you have to go through it – and the rain and the mud are weighing you down – you can’t go through it fast; you must concentrate on each painful step…but at the same time, something is keeping you upright and compelling you to continue. In the distance, you see what appears to be a sheet of rain and then you see it – the sun; it is perfectly clear…The person you will be there will be stronger, with more understanding of how to run this race, with satisfaction and peace” (p. 34).
