Suffering together...

As portrayed in the 2004 film "Miracle," the 1980 US hockey team is a ragtag bunch of college kids, all from different teams from around the country. Their new coach is charged with making them a team, a single functioning unit. There is a memorable scene where coach Herb Brooks orders the team to skate punishing fitness drills until the players, voluntarily, state their name and identify themselves as members of Team USA. Through their collective suffering and trials they were brought together for a greater purpose

A similar thing happened after the hurricanes of 2005 - people from all across the nation were rushing to the aid of the people along the Gulf Coast. There is a sense that suffering, trials and tests bring us closer together as people.

Take a minute and think of the people in your life who have stood with or journeyed alongside of you through the tough times in your life...

Maybe some of these people you still keep in contact with daily, and maybe others have fallen out of touch through the years. But, many of these friends would still greet you with a hug. Our collective trials bring us together in a way that time and space cannot always overcome. We are called to suffer along with our brothers and sisters in the church, as well as know that while we are suffering - we are in a sense becoming closer to Christ, our long suffering Lord.

Meditation: Col. 1:24-27
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