Trisha's Sugar-Free Easter Blog

Found on my Facebook page...originally dated April 4th, 2010...

I know not what it is to suffer. Trust me, to hear me tell it, you'd think I do. I can complain with the best of them. But at my core, I know that I don't suffer. I've never had to suffer. I've STRUGGLED, perhaps; been met with obstacles and hardships, but I think I've found the difference. Jesus suffered. He was persecuted, beaten, stripped of his dignity and murdered brutally. He SUFFERED. I believe that struggle is something we bring upon ourselves; it is consequence to our actions. When people struggle financially, emotionally, professionally, romantically, it is usually due in some part to poor choices they have made. It is not heeding our better judgement (what I believe to be God nudging us in the right direction) and still taking a path we probably know we shouldn't. But we do not suffer. What Jesus had to endure, I do not believe were consequences of his actions. He was not making wrong or poor choices that brought him to a place where he needed to be taught a lesson. In fact, he was the MOST in-tune with a plan God laid out for him. And it is through Christ's suffering, that I can now struggle and come out the other side. That I can make dumb decisions and completely think I've destroyed my life, to learn, grow, and continue on. That God is present in my everyday, nudging me toward a life filled with less and less struggle. A life that I both love, and love to complain about. But a life nonetheless, devoid of suffering. So, may God meet you where you struggle today, and carry you through to a struggle-free tomorrow. ...and what this all has to do with rabbits, chocolate, and brightly-colored hidden eggs, I will never understand.