Some time ago I encountered a life situation that caused me great anguish. I remember spending many days and nights sobbing about my plight. There was nothing I could do to change it, and the tremendous feeling of powerlessness I felt caused profound suffering. I prayed and prayed to be delivered from this challenge, but was continually told, “No.”
One day, when I again fell prey to the normal pity party that I had established for myself, I heard the words loudly in my mind, “Anne, DO YOU STILL NEED TO SUFFER?” I stopped right in the middle of what had been a very satisfying sob, and was spiritually taught as I saw my situation for what it was; an opportunity for me to shift my awareness in a remarkable way.
“If you don’t get what you want, you suffer; if you get what you don’t want, you suffer; even when you get exactly what you want, you still suffer because you can’t hold on to it forever. Your mind is your predicament. It wants to be free of change. Free of pain, free of the obligations of life and death. But change is law and no amount of pretending will alter that reality.”
We generally resist change with all our might don’t we? Has it ever helped us have peace? Has it ever energized our ability to feel the Spirit? In this shifting of awareness, it became abundantly clear to me that the key to stopping suffering was to be welcoming towards and submit to the life situations that I was placed in. In other words, we can purposefully and willingly submit to God with all our struggles and disadvantages, and He’ll help us live above them in peace and joy.
