Philosopher and theologian Cornel West posits that the condition of truth is to allow suffering to speak. That resonates, doesn’t it? What is our suffering saying to us? What truth is it offering?

Far be it from me to attempt to explain why things couldn’t have been different or how a good and omniscient God works with suffering. Theologians and philosophers and farmers and housewives have been pondering these questions since the dawn of time, and I have nothing novel to offer the debate on the problem of pain.

However, what I’m learning is that, if we can risk allowing our suffering to speak, we just might discover how pain can be helpful to the plan of our individual and collective lives.

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