Escaping Hardships

One of my grade school teachers once hatched chicks in our classroom. I still remember the day those little beaks started pecking through the shells. I impulsively wanted to reach in and open up the shells myself, so the little chicks didn’t have to work so hard to break free. Had my sympathy overridden wisdom, the little chicks would have been damaged in profound ways.

I think about that experience nearly every time I see chicks hatching. And it begs a larger question: how do we truly help those who are experiencing hardship? Recently, I had surgery on my shoulder to repair a torn labrum. In the initial days after surgery, you feel rather helpless to do basic things like tying shoes and putting on a shirt. My wife, Sarah, graciously took care of me through that time, but I really did not want to be stuck needing Sarah to clothe me longer than necessary. That meant that I needed to work and figure out how to do some of these tasks on my own. That struggle, minor as it is, has been very helpful to me. Learning to move more slowly, purposefully, and with gentleness has been an important exercise. The surgery is repairing more than my shoulder.

Romans 5:3-5 indicates that suffering produces perseverance, which produces character, which produces hope. Perhaps you are in the midst of difficulty. May God give you mercy, perseverance, and wisdom.