For Those Trying to Suffer Well

When we suffer well,
The angry, hurtful words
Can become embedded in our flesh.
They search out pockets of sensitivity
And lodge themselves in unsuspecting organs and tissues.
These must be washed away with love.
And love is a river that flows through the soul.
In everyday life,
The river constricts and narrows down
To something more like a stream.
But, through purposeful imagination,
You can swell the stream
To therapeutic
Doses.
So try this.
Lie down and relax.
Let go of every muscle.
And feel yourself sink down.
Then imagine yourself as a river.
Actually picture in your mind the banks
Of the river - wide and spanning some great distance
On either side of you.
Feel yourself deep and low,
Low enough to hold the great mass of water
Flowing through you.
Then imagine the banks of the river extending
To some impossible distance,
Perhaps as wide as the state you live in.
Since you are the bed of the river,
As you do, you will feel yourself relax even more.
You will feel a deepening
In order to hold that much water.
And then do it again...and again,
Until the water stands on either side
To some distance which you can only comprehend
Through your imagination.
Were you to sit in a boat in the middle of this river,
You would be in the midst of an ocean.
And now feel the great mass of water
Pouring through you,
​Continually emptying itself out upon
The arid land which is your body.
Let it flow over and cool
Every fevered part.
As you do, you may feel
A tingling.
You may feel an actual cleansing
Of the cells of your body.
As you let this great mass of water flow through you,
See it heal your soul.
See the desert begin to bloom
With every kind of vegetation.
See each tree and flower shooting upward
Toward God in joy and gratitude.
And then as you heal
And as the river moves on,
Picture it flowing out of you
And emptying itself into the arid lands
Of those whom you love
Many of whom, perhaps, were the cause
Of your suffering.
See their deserts heal.
As you do this,
You may discover
That you need to sleep afterwards.
That's ok. Let yourself sleep.
You may also wake up
With new answers
As to what you need to do
To help heal those relationships.
A WARNING: This mediation may be difficult
If you have not been doing your best
To suffer well.
If so, repent.
Seek to carry the cross
Of other's anger and betrayal
Without reviling back.
Seek to love as He loved,
And to forgive.