Mourning > Suffering

#161

Friend,

I don’t want you to suffer, but I do want you to mourn.

Suffering and mourning might look similar, but they are vastly different.

• Suffering is centered on pain. It’s hurting without hope. It bends to isolation.

• Mourning is centered on healing. It’s hurting with hope. It bends to community.

One person said that “suffering is pain out of control.” Suffering is this sense that we can’t find our way forward because our pain and the consequences of our injury (whether physical, emotional, or mental) are all that we can see ahead.

Chuck Degroat said, “To mourn is to bring your suffering into the light before God and others. It is to refuse to suffer alone anymore. Mourning is living in truth, acknowledging that you’re hurting and seeking care rather than to self-soothe.”

The wisest man once said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

Love,

Aaron