A space where profound transformation happens. The deeper the pain, the deeper the change. The wider the wound, the broader the landscape of life will never look the same. To bear witness to such seismic shifts as they happen in real time is frighteningly holy ground.
Suffering is a space of profound intimacy. A holy space where Jesus himself, the Man of Many Sorrows, lies down in death beside the sufferer and says, “I am with you. And you will always be with me. Together, somehow, we will come out on the other side into brighter country. But for now, in darkness, let us be together.” Perhaps in our suffering more than in any other place is where Jesus draws near to us.
To be welcomed into another’s suffering is a holy invitation, to which the only right response is silence and presence.