Guest Post by Suze Fair - Suffering and More.

This is a guest post by a dear friend of mine, Suze Fair. Suze, her husband Kelly, and wonderful family have journeyed with my wife and me since before we were married. Our lives are better because of this family. 

I’ve asked Suze to share a story that is all too familiar to her. One of finding God in suffering. Too often we call on God to relieve us of our pain and suffering rather than inviting Him into it to show us more clearly His love for us and for a clearer picture of the what the Kingdom of Heaven may look like. I hope you connect to her story. 

Suffering and More. 

This year, I had a major surgery – it has it’s own name.

If you can avoid it, you shouldn’t have a surgery that has it’s own name. Trust me on this.

It took me 7 months to really feel like I had achieved some sense of “normal” and really only in the last month have I had long chunks of time where I forgot what I had been thru. 

Has that ever happened to you? You suffer so long; you almost forget what it’s like to not be in pain? To not be uncomfortable, hungry, cold, alone?

There’s an author I love, Mark Buchanan, he says it this way…“Sometimes, something can be broken so long you actually forget what it was ever like for it to be whole”.

I don’t think we were meant to live that way. But how do we not? When struggle attaches itself to our lives, it’s hard to step away from it. 

I work at a church and a few months after my surgery, I was scheduled to preach about the role of suffering in shaping us as disciples.

Hmmmm…

Before the surgery, I probably would have done a lot of research and talked about what OTHERS had to say about how suffering had shaped them as people, followers, friends, and even neighbors.

But in this season of my life - I knew it was my own story that God was asking me to share.  I also felt very clearly that my message might be one that some didn’t want to hear…

Suffering is God’s Good Gift to His children.
I have spent my entire Christian life asking God to make me more like Him.  To allow me to see, love, serve, interact with the world like He does.  And then, when He allows the very thing that made Him, Him — to come into my life, the very thing that might make me a little bit more like Him (suffering) — I run, hide, and resist it. 

But this time — I have tried to stand with Him in my suffering and let it reveal things in me that He would like to change.

Here’s what I know, no matter where we are on the faith deal — if we’re struggling without purpose — no matter what your pain is caused by — then our suffering will feel pointless. 

It will feel more like a curse than a gift and I get that.

Actually, for a season I believed that.

These days though, I’m discovering that there is more of ME to be discovered.
More of ME to be offered as a gift to my family, my friends, the people I work with and live next to.

And that MORE can only be revealed as I suffer.

It’s not a question of WHY we suffer (because we all will), but rather HOW we respond.

I’m grateful to be 8 months out from The Whipple (yep, that’s it’s name).
To have more good days than bad.
To have the energy to be the Wife & Mom I feel called to be.
To be able to understand that without suffering in me, I have nothing to offer the world outside of me who is struggling too.