Suffering is like a door, and the hinge of that door is our intension. Our intension emerges from a deep place of interior freedom. We can either close the door, and wall ourselves off, creating a space of bitterness and self isolation, or we can open the door by making ourselves an offering, and in so doing we step into the wide open space of surrender, acceptance and grace.
Without this door of suffering, it becomes difficult to find the open and unitive space, and we get confined and compressed into our egoic or false self. The suffering that seems to limit us and break us down is that which paradoxically expands our capacity and connectivity. It is the door of powerlessness that opens out onto a vast terrace of grace.
Jesus stands at the door and knocks, and as we open and enter into his life, which is really our pascal mystery, it opens out to eternal life. We come to realize that we are stronger than death, and suffering need not be a tragedy. Yes, for a time we may have to squeeze through a difficult and narrow passage, but along the way, my pain has become His pain, and our pain. His glory is my glory. His joy, my joy, and our joy.