Our passage from the book of Romans gives us a lot to think about this morning. We hear Paul’s message about suffering. He tells us that even though there is suffering, we should look beyond that because that’s when the good stuff comes. As a young person, that feels like something that is far easier to say than it is do put into practice. But, our passage doesn’t say anything about easy. Sometimes we have to get through the hard stuff in order to see or recognize the good. We have to put our faith in the HOPE.
Suffering is being in the state of distress, pain, or hardships. This is something all of us can say we have experienced. They ways in which it has happened are probably different for all of us, but I am certain that some of the feelings might be similar. When I think about suffering, there are different ways that we can think about it - mentally, physically, or even emotionally.
As I started to think about what I might say to you today, a time during my freshman year came to mind. But, before I get to that, I want to share a little background. I have played basketball since I was 9 years old. It is something I really enjoy doing. As I kept playing, I discovered that I was pretty good at it. I started joining more teams and as I got older, I started playing select basketball. The teams I have been on have been pretty good and good enough to win the tournaments we were in. As I entered my sophomore year of high school, I started to hear from coaches, friends, and family that I most likely would be able to play in college. This past fall, I began to hear from some of those college coaches and I have already been offered a scholarship to play at a division one school.
But there was a time that my basketball career was not what I wanted it to be. During my freshman season at Southeast, I suffered an injury where I bruised a bone in my knee, and I was not able to finish the season. I no longer suited up with the team, but I still attended every practice and game. There were times when I was that person at the end of the bench in my street clothes. This was very difficult for me because it is my get-away to everything. And by that, I mean basketball, and all that comes with it, is a stress release for me. When I am done with practice or a game, I feel like I have accomplished something. When I had to take the bench and just watch, I felt like I couldn’t help my team and that I wasn’t able to care for myself.
During this time, I struggled mentally and noticed that I had trouble focusing on schoolwork. The motivation to do it just wasn’t there. This feeling held over and some of my schoolwork was turned in late. Which then becomes overwhelming in a different way because now my schoolwork is late.
I struggled physically because walking itself was painful. I had trouble getting around school during the day. And not being able to walk made it really hard to work out and stay in shape for basketball. Because of this, it took some extra conditioning over the summer and fall in order to get back into shape and ready to play again.
I struggled emotionally because I didn’t know if I would be back before the season was over. Basketball is such an outlet for me that it was hard to stay positive. It was hard to watch my team and know that I would not be able to help them and encourage my teammates when they were out on the court.
But even though all of this was going on, I still kept hope. Hope that I would be back and better than ever. I didn’t give up after that even though I really wanted to. My faith kept me strong.
This community is part of what helped me in that strength. To have hope! Coming to church every Sunday and youth group every Wednesday. Being able to share my thoughts and struggles with people who would listen and give me advice. I trusted the advice because I knew that these people, you, loved and cared for me. Having people from different schools was helpful too. It was good to be able to talk and vent to my peers that I knew were a safe space.
What I would hope that you would hear is,
that if you are struggling, the church is here for you too. It is a safe space. Reach out to someone. Your church community is an extension for
God’s love and care. They are the people
that will pat you on the back, hug you, and love you no matter what. So, don’t be afraid to speak out when you
need it. Remember, that when we don’t
know how we are going to get through it, God is the HOPE that will be with us. Amen.
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