“If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.” 1 Corinthians 12:26 NLT

 So, here's this week's update. I am recovering well from the surgery on my right wrist. I am still very limited in what I can do, but I am feeling better, and I know that after my follow up appointment this coming week I will be able to do more. My left wrist is healing. As it has been the only hand that I can do anything with, at times it feels a little strained. I can do what I need to do, like eat as long as the food is prepared for me. I can’t handle carrying any weight. But we are moving forward. Thank you for your prayers!

I am keenly aware that what I am going through, this challenge, it’s not just my challenge.  My challenge presents challenges to others. This challenge is also my husband’s challenge as he cares for me and helps me with the many things I am unable to do for myself. It’s my church’s challenge as my care pastor works to help us through it with meals, rides and other support. It’s my family’s challenge as they navigate their own feelings about my injuries and recovery. I may be the one with broken wrists, but when I fell a whole bunch of other people fell with me.

I once heard a message by Elisabeth Elliot in which she defined suffering as having what you don’t want or wanting what you don’t have. That describes how many of us feel at any given moment. Suffering isn’t just about physical pain, and it isn’t just about emotional pain. Suffering under that definition is anything we didn’t choose and don’t want. Are you suffering right now, dear friend?

The difficulty with any pain that we experience, physical or emotional, is that it can cause us to become self-focused. When you or I are in pain there is only one thing that we want. We want the pain to go away! But remember that the people who love you are hurting with you. They also want to make your pain go away. And they can feel very helpless because they can’t.

I am very aware of the strain it puts on other people because I have to ask for help. I don’t have a choice. I can’t do many things for myself, and I need others to help me. I am trying to be judicious about what I ask for, how I ask, and how often I ask for it. Especially from my husband. I don’t want to make a difficult situation more difficult by being demanding and whiny. That would not be fun for anybody! I want to honor God and others in how I respond to this challenge.

I don’t know what you’re going through right now, my friend, but you are not alone. The truth of the matter is we never go through anything alone. You may feel alone in your pain, but you are not. So, as you navigate your current challenge, your current suffering, remember that it’s not just yours. Not only is God with you, but there are also others with you. Others who love you. And when we love someone, we feel their pain and want to make it better, right? The biggest challenge you and I are facing is how to honor God and others in our current circumstances.

You are not alone, dear friend. Never.