what is suffering?

suffer /suhf•er/: To undergo or feel pain or distress

Several years ago, Dude and I lived in San Francisco. I was in MBA school and Dude worked as a consultant. Life was good. It was during the dot com boom. There were lots of jobs and people were making lots of money. Then after the tragedies of 9-11, came the bust. We would have dinner with about ten to twelve of our friends and only one person actually had a job to go to the next day. The rest of us had either been laid off or had worked at dot coms that shut down.

Since we were Canadian, we worked in the US on visas. Once we became unemployed, we were required to leave the country within 30 days. During those 30 days, we were unable to find other jobs and thus, had to pack up all our belongings, sell our beloved Audi and make the trek back to Vancouver… to live in my in-laws basement.

For six long months, we were unable to find work. Here we were, two highly educated individuals, living in a country where we are legally allowed to work and we couldn’t find any work. I even registered with a temp agency for receptionist positions and there was nothing available.

Why did we have to endure such hardship and suffering? That’s how I saw our situation. But all I had to do to gain perspective was talk to my grandmother. She told me how she and her family starved as they hid from the Japanese when they invaded China. That was all I needed to hear to change my perspective.

If you’ve been following along on my blog, you’ll know that Dude and I left our jobs in July 2012 and have been on a journey pursuing our passions and waiting patiently on our God to guide us each day. You can read more about our journey by clicking the links. It’s been over a year and we know our passions lie in the visual storytelling space and we know that social media plays a big role in getting those stories out there.

Is it hard work? Yes. Is it nebulous? Absolutely. Is it ambiguous? For sure. Is it suffering? No. I understand that for some people, dare I say even most people, need to know where their next pay cheque is coming from or at the very least need a plan to get a job if they don’t have one. And if they don’t have the security or control in knowing what’s next, they would perhaps feel like they are suffering or enduring hardship. I get that.

But during this time of our lives, we do not see our situation as suffering. Yes, we have days where we are tired of waiting and want to know what is next. We continue to see our savings decrease and that makes us uncomfortable. But we have witnessed God’s goodness throughout our journey. He has provided for our every need and we trust that He will continue to do so.

One project we worked on this year was producing the following interview for a friend who was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Did she suffer? I would guess so but the few of times we met with her, she exuded such joy and peace. Even in the mist of her suffering, she chose to be joyful. I want to be like that!

[youtube width=”625″ height=”380.21″ video_id=”ALKusa2ZUk8″]

(If you are unable to view the above video, you can view it here: http://youtu.be/ALKusa2ZUk8)

Shirley passed away on July 29th, 2013. I will never forget how she had tirelessly shared God’s love with all those around her. I will always remember her as a true example of what living with joy and peace means, despite whatever circumstances we may face.

[quote]Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

~Philipians 4:4-7[/quote]