Suffer Little Children

Today, as with so many recent days, it rained, and this, coupled with various email received from friends, cycling team-mates and loved ones, led me to reflect on the problem of suffering.

In his poem ‘The Rainy Day’ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-82) concluded Into each life a little rain must fall, Some days must be dark and dreary.

These words were possibly inspired by the premature death, in childbirth, of his first wife, Mary Potter, but in any case later proved to be prophetic for the great man as he lost his second wife, Frances Appleton, in even more tragic circumstances when she accidentally set herself alight. Longfellow never really recovered from this second tragedy and took to his bed for long periods, too scared to sleep in case of not waking.

I've been very lucky with my health generally but I have always felt that when these human indignities are thrust upon us it tends to steel our spirits in a necessary way. Each time we suffer makes the next time just a little easier and we become more aware but more tolerant of our mortality. I remember when my dad sat me down a few years ago to discuss the merits of whether he should bother having surgery for cancer as he didn’t much fancy the treatment and knew that his restricted oesophagus and reduced stomach capacity would mean the loss of his gourmet lifestyle. To me he seemed to be taking an almost business-like approach to his life but I now know it was just the wisdom of advanced age and the human mechanism to rationalise and come to terms with the finite term we experience on Earth.

My dad is still going strong in his 88th year having made the right decision.

Coincidentally I have today received updates about several friends who are struggling through that despicable burden of ill-health. Mark and John have cancers, Sue is in a hospital bed not responding to any stimuli, Mario is worried that his wife Suzanne’s cancer has returned and Luke has had to have his right arm amputated after a mystery virus created complications.

May I ask anyone who reads this blog to pray earnestly for all of the above, with a repentant heart, as I believe the repentant heart has great power. In Luke 13 Jesus talks of the certainty of death of unrepentant sinners. You see it is all just a timing difference. We may die today or tomorrow but we shall hardly ever die when we, or our loved ones, are ready. The repentant sinner shall never die according to Jesus.

An earlier line in Longfellow’s ‘The Rainy Day’ goes Be still, sad heart! and cease repining; Behind the clouds is the sun still shining. The man truly knew the nature of suffering. All things must pass and indeed some tragedies are played out with joyous endings.

I have a friend who broke his back falling out of a tree. He is in constant pain and his paralysis has worsened over the years to the extent that he now requires 24-hour care and is confined to bed for long periods. Despite this Brian always has a joke to brighten your day and is an inspiration to all and sundry. He would actually tell you it was the best thing that ever happened to him as he didn’t really like the path his life was taking before that fateful day.

My brother Kevin had a similar accident to Longfellow’s second wife Frances, last year. He survived and visited me from his home in Ibiza this last Christmas.

It rained and then the sun shone.