“If you have a pulse, you will suffer. Adversity is all around us.”
This is the opening sentence of the book, The Uninvited Companion. It is the consequence of living in our beautiful but broken world. No one escapes it. No one likes it. It is an “uninvited companion” that will either shape us or crush us.
While there are so many things I enjoyed about this book, I want to share one note I scribbled on page 79 of my book.
- I am not a victim! No one is exempt from suffering, illness, broken relationships, disability, or unfulfilled dreams and wishes. It is a part of the world we live in. If I choose to believe or say I am a victim, I will be crushed.
- My health issues do not define me! I am not a challenged pancreas or pseudocyst. I am Warren Pfohl who has struggled for over a year with my pancreas.
- God is the one who defines my circumstances! I believe in a good God who is all-loving and all-powerful. He can take any brokenness that enters my life and use it to shape me and mold me into a better person. I find he often uses my brokenness to woo me to know Him better.
- I am a son of God (his child,) invited into God’s story! I have the privilege of being a part of God’s Story, His Story (History.) I have the opportunity to share the comfort He and many others have shown me to others who are now walking in their own pain and suffering. I believe my story can be life-changing for someone else if I share it.