I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.

There are lots of things in our life that we wish did not happen. There are things that are happening right now, that we wish are just nightmares that we will wake up from. Most of us GET STUCK in life and asking the big question WHY?

Why did it happen to me?

Why me?

There was a time in my life that I set God aside. I felt he was not doing his job of taking care of me. Those were troubled times and I was young as well as stupid. My angry cry at God was “Why did you let it happened? Don’t You care?” I had a grudge with God for years.

When I came back God and to His Church the one of the first thing I did was to research about suffering and why He permits it. I read articles, books and encyclicals about it. I have tried to understand it for years now and I still try to. One thing I found out was suffering was a mystery. We might have our opinions why God permitted it, but it is just that – a speculation.

One thing I do believe, that God permits suffering in our life for our own good.

So what is the proper attitude when suffering hits us? Let us learn from Gandalf of the Lord of the Rings.

Frodo: I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.

Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

When suffering hits, it is better to ask the question “How?” than “Why?” Instead of being consumed by anger, grief and trying to understand why it happened, we must try our best to ask ourselves how to rise from it.

I love what Gandalf said “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” Suffering is part of life! But the decision to be stuck in wishing things did not happened is our choice. No matter how ugly things go, we do have the decision to move forward.

God is the God of love. Anything He permits, yes even suffering comes from His love. Why he permits it is most of the time a mystery. I remembered the first time I was taken to the dentist. I was traumatized by the pain. I felt my aunt who brought me there betrayed me. She permitted the dentist to torment me. I was too young to understand why the pain was necessary to fix my teeth. Before the almighty father we are all little children who are clueless in his ways.

I end with the words of St Paul, who suffered much for God. He was beaten up, whip lashed, imprisoned and even shipwrecked.

But this one thing I do: Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead - Philippians 3:13