The Holy Suffering of Motherhood
Much is said about the tender beauty of motherhood. It is one of the sweetest gifts one can experience. It is full of silly jokes, sweet hugs, and so many beautiful moments. I consider being a mother to my 8 children one of the best gifts I’ve ever been given. But it is not without its share of pain.
Learning to be Thankful for Suffering
Our natural inclination is one of self-preservation. We don’t want to suffer and will, at almost all costs, fight to keep ourselves from having to experience trials and tragedy. In The Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis writes, “The human spirit will not even begin to try to surrender self-will as long as all seems to be well with it. Now error and sin both have this property, that the deeper they are the less their victim suspects their existence; they are masked evil. Pain is unmasked, unmistakable evil; every man knows that something is wrong when he is being hurt.”