In today’s Old Testament reading, Job sounds very depressed. He does not know how to process his suffering. In my own life, I struggled for many years to come to terms with the suffering I was experiencing. I would distract myself with useless or self-defeating pursuits. I would also get bitter and blame God. The enemy was very successful at using my suffering to put a wedge between me and God.
The turning point came after my first trip to Medjugorje. One of the key insights I received there was to accept my suffering. Of course, some suffering we can prevent through prudent action. Some suffering we can alleviate through simple remedies. Some forms of suffering, like injustice, we should work to oppose. But we will all be visited by suffering that we cannot change. We can allow such suffering to destroy us or we can use it to grow and become more loving.
After my first trip to Medjugorje, I started saying the following prayer:
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