If you’re dealing with some form of suffering in your life, whether it’s spiritual, emotional or physical, it can cause all kinds of negative emotions. Those emotions not only affect us, but they affect everyone in our lives, even if we never say a word about it. Living in pain, regardless of the type of pain, can be draining and devastating. We may feel that we have nothing left within us to give, let alone trying to be pleasant to others.
Self awareness is very important though. How we treat ourselves and the others around us can either build a support system that we so desperately need, or shatter the ones we thought we had.
There have been times that I was completely alone but it was in those moments that I learned my own strength and that even if it was just me and God, alone, He was enough, and I was enough. I consciously made a choice to be positive and then prayed that God would bring my feelings in line with that action. It IS a CHOICE that we have to make, not a feeling!
Having a positive attitude doesn’t make your suffering go away but it does make it much easier to deal with. We can vent to safe people in our lives and find comfort in sharing our experiences with others who understand what we’re going through but then, we’ve got to mentally pick ourselves up again and press forward.
I have also always been a strong advocate of professional counseling and medication if needed. I’m one of the most optimistic and positive people around and I needed an antidepressant for 3 years when I was at my lowest point in my physical suffering. (I am a counselor and minister myself but I believe that every good and honest counselor or minister will tell you that they need help sometimes too! If they don’t, I would find a new one with more humility.)
We keep trying things that have helped others, until we find the things that help us. Our lives may never be what they used to be but that doesn’t mean that we can’t have different, great things in our lives again! It’s true that if we surround ourselves with negativity and negative people, we will become negative ourselves. This is a very scary place to be, in your life’s journey, but there are many people that have walked this road before you and are thriving. I myself have had those “dark moments of the soul” and then I had people in my life who talked me “off the ledge”. The key was that they were moments. I never let myself live in that head space for long. Take the suggestions of others and keep fighting. Reach out for comfort and understanding and take it, when it’s offered. No one can go through this for you but many are willing to walk through it with you. This is not the end of your life. It’s a chapter in your book. What you do with it is up to you. I shared with my son the other day, that if I had to use one word to describe my life, it would be suffering. I have suffered physically, spiritually, and emotionally all of my life. I had encephalitis at 6, migraines as a teen, cancer in my leg in the 5th grade, eclampsia with my first son (he was taken at 25 weeks), 13 surgeries to remove just about every unnecessary organ including a colon rupture, thyroid lobe removal, complete hysterectomy, and on and on…. By the time I was 18 I had 9 friends die, then family members and finally my son. On and on there was suffering… But if I had to use one word to describe myself it would be Victorious. I’m nobody special though. I just keep fighting and trusting God. I now have 2 healthy kids and a 33 year marriage, this year. I’m living with my diseases but I’m LIVING! I have more Joy now, than I ever did with a healthy body, and my Father has created character in my life that I never would have developed without it. Fruits of His Spirit and genuine love and empathy towards Others! I used to surf and jump off cliffs and play tennis, etc. Now, I create art and enjoy my family. I appreciate life in a way that I never would have before I went through the darkness. I just want each of you to know that there is LIFE beyond your current suffering! Keep trying and fighting and surrounding yourself with the positive people in your life that will walk this chapter with you.
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