Sufferings

             Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. (Romans 5:3-4)

I’ve said what I’m going to say before, but sometimes, we need a reminder. We like to think that anything that happens to us that we don’t like is evil. And, we might be right, but the thing about evil, or even about hard things that aren’t evil, is that they build resilience. They build perseverance, which builds character, which gives us the capacity to hope. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know this. At least, we think we know this until something tough or evil comes along.

Yesterday, I went to the doctor’s for a check in more than a checkup. As a result, I ended up making a phone call to set up another appointment. Yep, the medical merry-go-round. Both the people I talked to congratulated me on making the decision to get my knee replaced. I know it’s a good decision, but my own reaction focuses on the struggles of getting ready and facing months of recovery: all the hard and bad stuff. In the end, it may be good, but it’s a gamble and there’s all the hard before that, and that’s my reasonable focus. It’s a battle I’m going to fight, and in some ways, the victory just sort of disappears amidst the struggles. It’s almost irrelevant. Dare I say, “WDA!”?

But as difficult as the physical preparation and recovery are going to be, what’s harder is the internal battle. I tend to be a bit independent and more than a bit a creature of habit. There’s a long list of  “I don’wanna”s involved, but it comes down to terrible twos, and “I do it!” A lot of people would probably say these are minor issues. No big, fat, hairy deals involved, and if you are humble enough to not have them, more power to you!  Granted, it’s not life and death, it’s not eating dirt to stay alive, or a house that has been destroyed, but I suspect the internal battles involved in those things might be harder than the externals, too. If we can’t get past the pain to discover strength, perseverance, character, and eventual hope, everything gets much harder.