Offering it Up

I sustained a minor sprained ankle the other night, nothing to be alarmed about. The most painful part of the injury was in my upper body after having to use crutches.

I have to say, I was overwhelmed by the kindness of friends and strangers. I'm not sure if it was my forlorn look of desperation and embarrassment as I awkwardly crutched my way around campus, or if it was my heavy breathing and frequent breaks that had people asking how it happened and if I needed any help.

God has a funny way of bringing delights in little sorrows, like the kindness of strangers. Sometimes those delights are so wonderful you question whether you have ever truly experienced hardship.

I have wonderful friends who kept reminding me that I had the opportunity to offer up my not-really-an-injury injury, and I kept reminding them that I had already complained away any graces I could have gotten from the whole ordeal. It wasn't until the end of the day when someone approached me and asked if I could say a little prayer for someone in their life on my walk/crutch back to campus.

It reminded me that "offering it up" is more than just dealing with pain because you know complaining is annoying and your parents told you to stop every time you asked if we were there yet. I was reminded that offering it up is a purposeful and conscious prayer that unites you to the suffering on the cross. It brings joy amidst suffering, maybe even to the point that suffering is transformed into only a joy.

The swelling is finally going down, and the whining has almost stopped. Now I just need to remember that suffering is more than just physical pain, but in whatever way I am given the opportunity to suffer, I should thank God that I get to live my life a little closer to Him if I can only have the grace to just offer it up.